Application of Bi₁₂ZnO₂₀ Sillenite as an Efficient Photocatalyst for Wastewater Treatment: Removal of Both Organic and Inorganic Compounds

• Main Authors: Oussama Baaloudj, Noureddine Nasrallah, Hamza Kenfoud, Faisal Algethami, Abueliz Modwi, Ahlem Guesmi, Aymen Amine Assadi, Lotfi Khezami
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2021-09-01
• Series: Materials
• Subjects: sillenite; Rietveld; optical bandgap; photodegradation; photoreduction
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/14/18/5409

This work aims to synthesize and characterize a material that can be used as an effective catalyst for photocatalytic application to remove both organic and inorganic compounds from wastewater. In this context, sillenite Bi₁₂ZnO₂₀ (BZO) in a pure phase was synthesized using the sol–gel method. Before calcination, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analysis was done to determine the temperature of the formation of the sillenite phase, which was found to be 800 °C. After calcination, the phase was identified by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and then refined using the Rietveld refinement technique. The results prove that BZO crystals have a cubic symmetry with the space group I23 (N°197); the lattice parameters of the structure were also determined. From the crystalline size, the surface area was estimated using the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) method, which was found to be 11.22 m²/g. The formation of sillenite was also checked using the Raman technique. The morphology of the crystals was visualized using electron scanning microscope (SEM) analysis. After that, the optical properties of BZO were investigated by diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) and photoluminescence (PL); an optical gap of 2.9 eV was found. In the final step, the photocatalytic activity of the BZO crystals was evaluated for the removal of inorganic and organic pollutants, namely hexavalent chromium Cr(VI) and Cefixime (CFX). An efficient removal rate was achieved for both contaminants within only 3 h, with a 94.34% degradation rate for CFX and a 77.19% reduction rate for Cr(VI). Additionally, a kinetic study was carried out using a first-order model, and the results showed that the kinetic properties are compatible with this model. According to these findings, we can conclude that the sillenite BZO can be used as an efficient photocatalyst for wastewater treatment by eliminating both organic and inorganic compounds.