pH Controlled Photocatalytic Abatement of RhB by FeWO4/BiPO4 p-n Heterojunction Under Visible Light Irradiation

A novel p-n heterostructure of FeWO4/BiPO4 nanocomposite was designed and synthesized through simple hydrothermal method. Among all the nanocomposites prepared with different weight percentage of FeWO4, 30% FeWO4/BiPO4 (S3) shows the highest photocatalytic performance for the degradation of Rhodamine B and Tetracycline under visible light irradiation. Degradation efficiency of RhB for S3 sample was 87% under neutral condition within 300mins but interestingly at pH 3 it showed 99% within 30mins and also showed good recyclability. The enhanced photocatalytic performance should be due to the maximum electron hole pair decoupling efficiency of S3 catalyst. Mineralization of RhB during catalytic process was detected by GC-MS. Consequently, based on the experiment results a possible photocatalytic mechanism over FeWO4/BiPO4 composite was anticipated, which indicate substantial potential of the composite towards the treatment of textile and pharmaceutical wastewater