Broad spectrum photocatalytic system based on BiVO4 and NaYbF4:Tm3+ upconversion particles for environmental remediation under UV-vis-NIR illumination

Author(s)

Ullah, S. ^{[1, 2]} ; Ferreira-Neto, E. P. ^[1] ; Hazra, C. ^[1] ; Parveen, R. ^[3] ; Rojas-Mantilla, H. D. ^[1] ; Calegaro, M. L. ^[3] ; Serge-Correales, Y. E. ^[1] ; Rodrigues-Filho, U. P. ^[3] ; Ribeiro, S. J. L. ^[1]

Affiliation

^[1] Sao Paulo State Univ UNESP, Inst Chem, POB 355, BR-14801970 Araraquara, SP - Brazil

^[2] Univ Peshawar, Inst Chem Sci, POB 25120, Peshawar - Pakistan

^[3] Univ Sao Paulo, Inst Chem Sao Carlos, BR-13560970 Sao Carlos, SP - Brazil

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: APPLIED CATALYSIS B-ENVIRONMENTAL; v. 243, p. 121-135, APR 2019.
• Web of Science Citations: 12

Abstract

The development of photocatalysts responsive towards a broader region of the solar (UV-to-NIR) light is important for efficient harvesting of sunlight for photochemical and photoelectrical applications. In this study, two photocatalytic systems (BV/LEDs and BV/UCPs where UCPs stands for NaYbF4:Tm3+ upconversion particles) based on bismuth vanadate (BV) are introduced for photocatalytic degradation of both organic dyes (crystal violet, CV) and pharmaceuticals (sulfathiazole, STZ) under a variety of photoactivation modes including low-power (1.26 W) LEDs and near infrared (NIR) irradiation as well as natural sunlight. The BV/LEDs system makes use of the perfect match between the emission profile of commercial blue LEDs (460 +/- 10 nm) and absorption profile of BV (E-g = 2.6 eV) to effectively photodegrade pollutants. The BV/UCPs system, on the other hand, exploits the NIR-to-UV/visible upconverted light from UCPs to allow photodegradation of pollutants under NIR illumination. Moreover, we present a detailed study of the experimental parameters to obtain BV particles with tailored morphology (spherical, rod-like, hyperbranched), crystalline phase (monoclinic, tetragonal or heterojunction biphasic BV) and band gap energy (2.4-2.9 eV). Depending on the phase composition, a synergetic effect in photoactivity is observed in samples containing around 68% monoclinic and 30% tetragonal BV which is ascribed to the formation of monoclinic/tetragonal heterojunction. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 15/22875-4 - Development of Efficient IR/Visible light-driven Photocatalysts for Photocatalytic Applications under Solar light radiation
• Grantee: Sajjad Ullah
• Support type: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctorate
• FAPESP's process: 18/01934-0 - Aerogels based on transition metal disulfides and bacterial cellulose: bifunctional nanomaterials with photocatalytic and adsorptive properties for environmental applications
• Grantee: Elias Paiva Ferreira Neto
• Support type: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctorate
• FAPESP's process: 15/18733-0 - Upconverting Lanthanide Nanoparticles for Biosensing Applications
• Grantee: Chanchal Hazra
• Support type: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctorate