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. 2023 Apr 18;13(1):6331.
doi: 10.1038/s41598-023-33249-1.

Cocatalyst loaded Al-SrTiO3 cubes for Congo red dye photo-degradation under wide range of light

M Abd Elkodous  1 , Ahmed M El-Khawaga  2   3 , Marwa Mohamed Abouelela  4   5 , M I A Abdel Maksoud  6
Affiliations

Cocatalyst loaded Al-SrTiO3 cubes for Congo red dye photo-degradation under wide range of light

M Abd Elkodous et al. Sci Rep. .

Abstract

The continued pollution, waste, and unequal distribution of the limited amount of fresh water on earth are pushing the world into water scarcity crisis. Consequently, development of revolutionary, cost-effective, and efficient techniques for water purification is essential. Herein, molten flux method was used for the preparation of micro-sized Al-doped SrTiO3 photocatalyst loaded with RhCr2O3 and CoOOH cocatalysts via simple impregnation method for the photo-assisted degradation of Congo red dye under UV and visible irradiation compared with P25 standard photocatalyst. In addition, photoelectrochemical analysis was conducted to reveal the separation and transfer efficiency of the photogenerated e-/h+ pairs playing the key role in photocatalysis. SEM and TEM analyses revealed that both P25 and the pristine SrTiO3 have spherical shapes, while Al-doped SrTiO3 and the sample loaded with cocatalysts have cubic shapes with a relatively higher particle size reaching 145 nm. In addition, the lowest bandgap is due to Al+3 ion doping and excessive surface oxygen vacancies, as confirmed by both UV-Vis diffuse-reflectance and XPS analyses. The loading of the cocatalysts resulted in a change in the bandgap from n-type (pristine SrTiO3 and Al-SrTiO3) into p-type (cocatalyst loaded sample) as exhibited by Mott-Schottky plots. Besides, the cocatalyst-loaded sample exhibited good performance stability after 5 cycles of the photocatalytic removal of Congo red dye. OH· radical was the primary species responsible for CR degradation as confirmed by experiments with radical scavengers. The observed performance of the prepared samples under both UV and visible light could foster the ongoing efforts towards more efficient photocatalysts for water purification.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
XRD analysis of the investigated samples.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Raman analysis of the investigated samples.
Figure 3
Figure 3
PL analysis of the investigated samples.
Figure 4
Figure 4
XPS analysis of the prepared cocatalyst loaded Al-SrTiO3 sample, (a) survey analysis, deconvoluted (b) Sr, (c) Ti, (d) O, and ‘(e) Al.
Figure 5
Figure 5
SEM analysis of (a) P25, (b) SrTiO3, (c) prepared Al-SrTiO3, and (d) prepared cocatalyst loaded Al-SrTiO3 samples.
Figure 6
Figure 6
(a) TEM analysis and (b–h) STEM mapping analysis of the prepared cocatalysts over Al-SrTiO3 sample.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Time-dependent degradation of CR dye in the presence of P25, SrTiO3, Al-SrTiO3, and cocatalyst loaded Al-SrTiO3 catalysts in dark and under (a) UV irradiation and (b) visible light.
Figure 8
Figure 8
(a) Effect of pH value on the degradation percentage of CR by using cocatalyst loaded Al-SrTiO3 and (b) PZC calculation.
Figure 9
Figure 9
(a) Recyclability of cocatalyst loaded Al-SrTiO3 for CR degradation under UV irradiation (b) FTIR spectra and (c) XRD patterns of cocatalyst loaded Al-SrTiO3 before and after 5 cycles of CR degradation.
Figure 10
Figure 10
(a) Photocurrent response, (b) EIS Nyquist curves, and Mott–Schottky plots of (c) SrTiO3, Al-SrTiO3, and (d) cocatalyst loaded Al-SrTiO3 samples.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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