Abstract
The Bi2O3/Bi2WO6 heterostructures of various compositions are prepared via the surfactant-assisted sol–gel method, which exhibits enhanced and synergistic photocatalytic activity towards the degradation of Rhodamine B (Rh B) using visible light irradiation. Characterization of these heterostructures has been done using X-ray diffraction, microscopic and spectroscopic methods. The 50% tungstate in bismuth oxide (BWO) nanocomposites having band gap of 2.85 eV and an average size of 40–80 nm shows maximum dye removal up to 87% in 4 h compared to pure Bi2O3 and other heterostructures of Bi2O3/Bi2WO6. The reusability studies demonstrate the excellent retention of photocatalytic activity without much loss in activity, implying the stability and efficiency of the prepared catalyst. The degradation of the Rh B dye is modeled mathematically to analyze the interactive effects of the key parameters like the time, amount of catalyst, and dye concentration, and to determine the optimal setting of these parameters to optimize the degradation process using the face-centered Central Composite Design (FC-CCD) of the Response Surface Methodology (RSM) analysis. An accurate full quadratic model has been developed with R2 = 99.41%. The sensitivity of the degradation was evaluated at all levels of the key parameters. At 0.1 g of catalyst amount, it was found that the increment of the catalyst amount would be suitable for improved degradation as compared to allowing more time for the degradation. The maximum degradation was obtained for a dye concentration of 5 ppm, and 0.1 g catalyst for 4 h.
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Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank CHRIST (Deemed to be University), Bangalore for all the facilities. Part of this research was performed using facilities at CeNSE, funded by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Govt. of India, and located at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore.
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Devi, K.R.S., Karthik, K., Mackolil, J. et al. Modelling and optimization of Rhodamine B degradation over Bi2WO6–Bi2O3 heterojunction using response surface methodology. Appl Nanosci 13, 3749–3765 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13204-022-02525-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13204-022-02525-3