Aurivillius family of layered perovskites, BiREWO6 (RE = La, Pr, Gd, and Dy): Synthesis, characterization, and photocatalytic studies

The present work deals with the synthesis, characterization, and photocatalytic studies of layered perovskites belonging to Aurivillius family. Layered perovskites of various chemical compositions, BiREWO6 (RE = La, Pr, Gd, and Dy), were synthesized by an ethylene glycol assisted sol gel method. These materials were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), Fourier transform infrared, Raman, and ultraviolet visible diffuse reflectance techniques. The composition of all these materials was obtained from EDS. The unit cell lattice parameters were attained from Rietveld refinement program, Fullprof.2k, by refining the d-lines of BiREWO6. The band gap energy of these samples was obtained from the Kubelka Munk plot. The photocatalytic activity of all the samples was evaluated by photodegradation of methylene blue. The mechanistic degradation pathway of methylene blue was studied using radical quenchers. (C) 2018 Academie des sciences. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.