Visible Light Response Photocatalytic Activity Appreciably Enhanced by Dy-Substituted KBiFe2O5

Abstract

Dye effluents released from various factories and industries causes environmental contamination as well as health hazards, so it is highly necessary to take care of this issues. This work shedslight on the worthwhile photodegradation of methylene blue (MB), a common industrial dye in Dy substituted KBiFe2O5 (KBi1-xDyxFe2O5 (x = 0, 0.05, 0.075, 0.1)). KBiFe2O5 is a brownmillerite structured promising multiferroic photoactive material favorable for Photocatalytic and photovoltaic application. Solid state reaction method is adopted to synthesize Dy doped KBiFe2O5 and XRD analysis confirms the monoclinic structure with P2/c space group of the materials. Through rigorous optimization, the photocatalytic performance of doped sample is enhanced from 62% to 95% MB degradation efficiency under direct sunlight in 180 minutes. This study also explains the stability of the photocatalyst after two cycles photodegradation process. The photodegradation of dye is also achieved around 90% efficiency of 10%-Dy doped KBiFe2O5 upon testing in river water for practical application. Magnetic moment increases 5 times with Dy substitution.