Application of BiFeO3 and Au/BiFeO3 decorated kaolinite nanocomposites as efficient photocatalyst for degradation of dye and electrocatalyst for oxygen reduction reaction

To improve the photocatalytic performance and solve the aggregation problem of BiFeO3 nanoparticles, kaolinite-BiFeO3 photocatalyst was successfully prepared for the first time by decoration of ferromagnetic BiFeO3 nanoparticles onto kaolinite surface. Comparative characteristics of kaolinite, bare BiFeO3 and kaolinite-BiFeO3 photocatalyst were investigated in detail by XRD, TEM, SEM-EDX, XPS, FTIR, VSM, UV-DRS, PL, zeta potential and BET techniques. The photocatalytic activities of the samples were also evaluated by photodegradation of rhodamine B as a model reaction under different irradiations like UVA, visible and sunlight. The kaolinite-BiFeO3 exhibited more superior photocatalytic activity as compared with other samples, which is best fitted to pseudo-first-order kinetic. The reactive species trapping experiments indicated that photogenerated-holes play major roles in the degradation process whereas superoxide radicals possess a secondary effect. Enhanced photocatalytic activity of kaolinite-BiFeO3 is attributed to its kaolinite platform that reduces the recombination opportunities of the photogenerated holes and electrons as well as increases the surface area, decreases the particle size and aggregation of nanoparticles. In addition, we also designed a novel electrocatalytic platform based on gold nanoparticles loaded on kaolinite-BiFeO3 modified carbon paste electrode surface for the examination of electrocatalytic activity for oxygen reduction reaction in alkaline medium. Electrochemical characterizations of the Au/BiFeO3/kaolinite modified carbon paste electrode and other bare surfaces were comparatively carried out with the aid of cyclic voltammetry, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and chronoamperometry. Au/BiFeO3/kaolinite modified carbon paste electrode exhibited 15-fold current enhancement together with 100 mV anodic potential shift compared with bare carbon paste electrode. © 2021 Elsevier B.V.