Pooja Shandilya

Shoolini University, India

Title: Highly efficient dual step-scheme Bi2WO6/Fe2O3/WO3 heterojunction for the photodegradation of bisphenol-A

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Biography

Pooja Shandilya is currently an Assistant Professor of School of Advanced Chemical Sciences at Shoolini University of Biotechnology and Management Sciences Solan, H.P., India. She has been working in the field of photocatalysis to develop novel heterojunction possessing broad absorption range and highly efficient for photocatalytic water detoxification and other environmental applications. She is exploring various metal oxide, layered double hydroxide, and carbon-based photocatalytic heterojunction having different type of charge migration that can be theoretically and experimentally characterized by DFT, XPS, ESR, and AFM technique and also by performing trapping experiments. The major aim of her studies is to construct sustainable and advanced nanomaterials for various photocatalytic applications. She has published nearly 28 SCI journal articles with 1789 citation in the area of material chemistry.

Abstract

An efficient, visible light active, non-toxic, magnetically separable, and highly efficient charge separation dual step-scheme (S-scheme) Bi₂WO₆/Fe₂O₃/WO₃ (BFW) heterojunction were designed by ultrasonic-assisted wet impregnation method. The morphology, chemical states, surface area, optical and electrochemical characteristics were examined by SEM, TEM, EDX, FTIR, BET, XRD, UV-Vis-DRS along with PL analysis. Different direction of charge migration follows S-scheme pathway that synergistically facilitates recoupling of useless charge carrier at heterojunction interface. The charge transfer and separation, mineralization process, and S- scheme type charge migration in BFW photocatalysts were in-depth investigated by electrochemical studies, HPLC, LC-MS, and XPS analysis. The superoxide and hydroxyl radicals generated on BFW heterojunction photodegraded 99% of bisphenol-A under visible light. The trapping experiments and ESR techniques were explored to establish the role of primary active species.

Moreover, the effect of catalyst dosage, BPA concentration, initial pH, and the presence of inorganic anions was also investigated. As reflected in VSM analysis, the strong-magnetic behaviour enables the heterojunction magnetically separable and recyclable up to 7 catalytic runs. Significant photocurrent density and lower charge transfer resistance at the interface demonstrate BFW as highly efficient photocatalysts for BPA degradation. Hence we believe this work furnish new insights for fabricating a novel S-scheme based heterojunction for environmental remediation.