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Synthesis of BiOI/Mordenite composites for photocatalytic treatment of organic pollutants present in agro-industrial wastewater
Gallegos Alcaíno, Alejandra
Robles Araya, Nathaly
Avalos, Camila
Alfonso Alvarez, Alexander
Rodríguez, Carlos
Sánchez Flores, Norma
Durán Alvarez, Juan
Bizarro, Monserrat
Romero Salguero, Francisco
Mera, Adriana
Nanomaterials
2022
Recently, bismuth oxyiodide (BiOI) is an attractive semiconductor to use in heterogeneous photocatalysis processes. Unfortunately, BiOI individually shows limited photocatalytic efficiency, instability, and a quick recombination of electron/holes. Considering the practical application of this semiconductor, some studies show that synthetic zeolites provide good support for this photocatalyst. This support material permits a better photocatalytic efficiency because it prevents the quick recombination of photogenerated pairs. However, the optimal conditions (time and temperature) to obtain composites (BiOI/ synthetic zeolite) with high photocatalytic efficiency using a coprecipitation-solvothermal growth method have not yet been reported. In this study, a response surface methodology (RSM) based on a central composite design (CCD) was applied to optimize the synthesis conditions of BiOI/mordenite composites. For this purpose, eleven BiOI/mordenite composites were synthesized using a combined coprecipitation-solvothermal method under different time and temperature conditions. The photocatalytic activities of the synthesized composites were evaluated after 20 min of photocatalytic oxidation of caffeic acid, a typical organic pollutant found in agro-industrial wastewater. Moreover, BiOI/mordenite composites with the highest and lowest photocatalytic activity were physically and chemically characterized using nitrogen adsorption isotherms, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS). The optimal synthesis conditions prove to be 187 ◦C and 9 h. In addition, the changes applied to the experimental conditions led to surface property modifications that influenced the photocatalytic degradation efficiency of the BiOI/mordenite composite toward caffeic acid photodegradation.
Bismuth oxyiodide (BiOI)
Heterogeneous photocatalytic process
Synthetic zeolite
Surface response methodology
Nanotecnología
Ingeniería de materiales
Ciencias físicas
Ciencias químicas