A new catalyst with the superior performance for treatment of water polluted by anthraquinone compounds

Bismuth tartrate (BiT) is successfully synthesized by the sol–gel method. The photocatalytic performance was evaluated by decolourization of anthraquinone-based Reactive Blue 19 (RB19) dye that represents a model of organic pollutant. The X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy were used to determine the properties and structures of the BiT. The BiT has a smooth surface without pores, which is confirmed by BET analysis. The specific surface area is not large for BiT, with value of 23.7 m2 g−1. BiT shows very high decolourization efficiency at optimal conditions: the photocatalyst dose of 0.50 g dm−3 at pH 2.0 and the stirring rate of 250 rpm. Increasing of UV light intensity leads to increase of decolourization rate. The decolourization of RB19 follows the Langmuir-Hinshelwood and pseudo-first-order kinetics. The chemical oxygen demand analysis shows the ability of catalyst to completely mineralize RB19. Also, BiT photocatalyst exhibits remarkable stability and recyclability under applied conditions in five consecutive catalytic cycles. The decolourization efficiency remains around 93%, which means that BiT has good potential to be applied as a very efficient catalyst.