Coconut Fiber Decorated with Bismuth Vanadate for Enhanced Photocatalytic Activity

Duangdao Channei; Natthamon Rodsawaeng; Panatda Jannoey; Wilawan Khanitchaidecha; Auppatham Nakaruk; Sukon Phanichphant

doi:10.1021/acsomega.1c07169

Coconut Fiber Decorated with Bismuth Vanadate for Enhanced Photocatalytic Activity

ACS Omega. 2022 Mar 3;7(10):8854-8863. doi: 10.1021/acsomega.1c07169. eCollection 2022 Mar 15.

Authors

Duangdao Channei^{1

2}, Natthamon Rodsawaeng¹, Panatda Jannoey³, Wilawan Khanitchaidecha^{2

4}, Auppatham Nakaruk^{2

5}, Sukon Phanichphant⁶

Affiliations

¹ Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Naresuan University, Phitsanulok 65000, Thailand.
² Centre of Excellence for Innovation and Technology for Water Treatment, Naresuan University, Phitsanulok 65000, Thailand.
³ Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medical Science, Naresuan University, Phitsanulok 65000, Thailand.
⁴ Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Naresuan University, Phitsanulok 65000, Thailand.
⁵ Department of Industrial Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Naresuan University, Phitsanulok 65000, Thailand.
⁶ Materials Science Research Center, Faculty of Science, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand.

Abstract

Bismuth vanadate/coconut fiber (BiVO₄/CF) composites were synthesized by coprecipitation and calcination methods. All catalysts used in this work were prepared by a simple coprecipitation method and fully characterized by means of XRD, SEM-EDS, PL, BET N₂ adsorption, zeta potential, and UV-vis DRS. Degradation of indigo carmine (IC) under visible light irradiation was tracked by the UV-vis technique. It was documented that XRD patterns of BiVO₄ and BiVO₄/CF samples retained the monoclinic structure. From SEM, the CF sheets were visualized, covering the surface of BiVO₄ particles. The specific surface area of the synthesized catalysts increased from 1.77 to 24.82 m²/g. The shift of absorption edge to a longer wavelength corresponded to a decrease in band gap energy from 2.3 to 2.2 eV. The photocatalytic degradation rate of the BiVO₄/CF composite was five times higher than that of pristine BiVO₄. Moreover, the photocatalyst can be separated and recycled with little change after the third times recycling. The improved activity of the composite resulted from the combination of the adsorption performance of the substrate CF and the photocatalytic activity of BiVO₄. In addition, the position of the specific mechanism could occur via both the active species of superoxide radical and hydroxyl radical.