Preparation and Characterization of Ba0.6K0.4BiO3 Nano Particles with High Visible Light Photo Catalytic Activity

Herein, we report the synthesis of a novel nano-structured photo catalyst Ba0.6K0.4BiO3 by Pechini method. Prepared catalyst is characterized using simultaneous thermogravimetric differential thermal analysis (TG–DTA),  ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Ultra Violet Diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (UV-DRS) and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). The XRD pattern suggests that Ba0.6K0.4BiO3 crystallizes in the cubic structure. The formation of perovskite phase can be confirmed by the presence of metal-oxygen band in the FTIR spectrum. SEM image reveals the nano sized plate like structure of Ba0.6K0.4BiO3 with particle size in the range of 10-45 nm. The band gap is calculated from the DRS and is found to be 1.8eV. The band gap and crystalline nature suggest that this material can be used as a photo catalyst. The photo catalytic activity of Ba0.6K0.4BiO3 is evaluated for degradation of Malachite Green dye under visible light irradiation. The results reveal that 0.75 gL-1 Ba0.6K0.4BiO3 with initial concentration of Malachite Green 40 mgL-1 irradiated for 30 minutes shows the highest photo catalytic activity. According to Langmuir-Hinshelwood kinetic model, the photo catalytic degradation of Malachite green dye follows pseudo-first-order kinetics.