Characterization of alpha bismuth trioxide nanoparticles and their application for catalytic degradation of Xylene Cyanol FF Dye in aqueous solution

Bismuth oxide (Bi2O3) nanoparticles were synthesized using chemical reduction method. The prepared nanoparticles were characterized by Ultra violet – Visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier Transform Infra-red (FTIR) spectroscopy, Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) techniques The characterized nanoparticles were applied as photo catalyst for the degradation of hazardous dye Xylene Cyanol FF in aqueous medium. The effects of different parameters such as irradiation time, initial dye concentration, catalyst dosage, pH of the medium and temperature were studied on the photo catalytic degradation of the dye. It was found that with increase in irradiation time and catalyst dosage the degradation exponentially increased and decreased with increase in initial concentration of the dye. The temperature was found to have no appreciable effect on the dye degradation in open atmosphere.