Ferroelectric-semiconductor BaTiO3-Ag2O nanohybrid as an efficient piezo-photocatalytic material

Sakthivel Thangavel; Parthiban Pazhamalai; Karthikeyan Krishnamoorthy; Yuvaraj Sivalingam; Durairaj Arulappan; Vigneshwaran Mohan; Sang-Jae Kim; Gunasekaran Venugopal

doi:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2021.133398

Ferroelectric-semiconductor BaTiO₃-Ag₂O nanohybrid as an efficient piezo-photocatalytic material

Chemosphere. 2022 Apr:292:133398. doi: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2021.133398. Epub 2021 Dec 24.

Authors

Sakthivel Thangavel¹, Parthiban Pazhamalai², Karthikeyan Krishnamoorthy², Yuvaraj Sivalingam³, Durairaj Arulappan⁴, Vigneshwaran Mohan⁵, Sang-Jae Kim⁶, Gunasekaran Venugopal⁷

Affiliations

¹ Nanomaterials & System Lab, Major of Mechatronics Engineering, Faculty of Applied Energy System, Jeju National University, Jeju, 63243, South Korea; State Key Laboratory for Mechanical Behavior of Materials, Xian Jiaotong University, Xi'an, 710049, Shaanxi, China.
² Nanomaterials & System Lab, Major of Mechatronics Engineering, Faculty of Applied Energy System, Jeju National University, Jeju, 63243, South Korea.
³ Laboratory for Sensors, Energy and Electronic Devices, Department of Physics and Nanotechnology, SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Kattankulathur, Chennai, 603203, India.
⁴ School of the Environment and Safety Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, 212013, People's Republic of China.
⁵ Nanomaterials & System Lab, Major of Mechatronics Engineering, Faculty of Applied Energy System, Jeju National University, Jeju, 63243, South Korea; Department of Materials Science, School of Technology, Central University of Tamil Nadu, Thiruvarur, 610 005, Tamil Nadu, India.
⁶ Nanomaterials & System Lab, Major of Mechatronics Engineering, Faculty of Applied Energy System, Jeju National University, Jeju, 63243, South Korea; Nanomaterials & System Lab, Major of Mechanical System Engineering, College of Engineering, Jeju National University, Jeju, 63243, South Korea; Research Institute of Energy New Industry, Jeju National University, Jeju, 63243, South Korea. Electronic address: kimsangj@jejunu.ac.kr.
⁷ Department of Materials Science, School of Technology, Central University of Tamil Nadu, Thiruvarur, 610 005, Tamil Nadu, India. Electronic address: pvsguna@gmail.com.

PMID: 34954192
DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2021.133398

Abstract

Piezo-photocatalysis is a new concept of utilizing nanohybrids comprising piezoelectric and photocatalytic materials for enhancement in advanced oxidation process under the presence of light and mechanical energy. In this study, we explored the effectiveness of piezo-photocatalysis via examining their catalytic activity towards the degradation of azo dye (Rhodamine-B) and standard pollutant (Phenol) catalyzed by ferroelectric-semiconductor (BaTiO₃-Ag₂O) nanohybrids. Further, the enhancement in piezo-photocatalysis has been achieved via persulfate activation and the role of free radicals was examined by quenchers. A plausible mechanism for the improved piezo-photocatalysis of BaTiO₃-Ag₂O nanohybrid using persulfate activation has been discussed in detail. The removal mechanism of Rhodamine-B has been investigated using analytical techniques such as HPLC and EPR. Our experimental study demonstrated that the combination of piezo-photocatalysis with persulfate activation will provide higher reaction rate which will be beneficial towards the degradation of complex molecular pollutants derived from industrial sectors.

Keywords: Advanced oxidation process; Ferroelectrics; Persulfate activation; Phenol; Piezo-photocatalysis.

MeSH terms

Barium Compounds
Catalysis
Phenols*
Semiconductors
Titanium*

Substances

Barium Compounds
Phenols
barium titanate(IV)
Titanium