Visible Light-Induced Photocatalytic and Antibacterial Activity of Li-Doped Bi0.5Na0.45K0.5TiO3–BaTiO3 Ferroelectric Ceramics

The visible light-active ferroelectric photocatalyst Bi0.5Na0.45Li0.05K0.5TiO3–BaTiO3 (BNKLBT) was synthesized by a solid-state method and its photocatalytic, photoelectrochemical, and antibacterial properties were investigated. In a chronoamperometric study the current density under visible light was 30 μA/cm2, which is three times more than that observed under dark conditions. The compound’s visible light photocatalytic activity was investigated for degradation of an organic dye (methyl orange) and an estrogenic pollutant (estriol).The kinetic rate constants calculated for photocatalytic degradation of methyl orange and estriol were 0.007 and 0.056 min−1, respectively. High photocatalytic and photoelectrochemical activity was a result of effective separation of photo-generated charge carriers, because of the ferroelectric nature of the catalyst. The effect of different charge-trapping agents on photocatalytic degradation was studied to investigate the effect of active species and the degradation pathway. Antimicrobial activity was investigated for Escherichia coli and Aspergillus flavus. The anti-bacterial action of BNKLBT was compared with that of the commercial antibiotic kanamycin (k30).