In situ preparation of Z-scheme CuBi₂O₄/ZnBi₂O₄ hybrid nanostructured for enhanced photocatalytic performance

A Novel Z-scheme CuBi₂O₄/ZnBi₂O₄ hybrid nanostructured photocatalyst was developed by a simple solvothermal method. CuBi₂O₄/ZnBi₂O₄ hybrid nanostructured was prepared with various ratios of Cu²⁺ and Zn²⁺ ions. The structural, optical, morphological, surface and electronic properties were characterized by XRD, UV, PL, FESEM, XPS and EIS analysis. The presence of tetragonal phases CuBi₂O₄ and ZnBi₂O₄ was confirmed by XRD. However, at lower concentrations of Zn²⁺ ions, Zn²⁺ is doped into CuBi₂O₄ leading to a shift in the diffraction pattern of CuBi₂O₄ and no tetragonal ZnBi₂O₄ is formed. The synthesized nanostructures exhibit broad spectrum of absorption and the hybrid nanostructure at optimized concentration possess low PL emission portraying the efficient charge transfer between the components of nanocomposites. This study investigates the photocatalytic degradation of Rhodamine B (RhB) dye under the influence of a 50 W LED light source, focusing on the efficiency and effectiveness of the process. Over a span of 150 min, the photocatalytic activity resulted in the degradation of 60% of RhB dye. The findings further reveal a total dye removal efficiency of 46.6% after 150 min, demonstrating the potential of the photocatalyst under LED irradiation. The study’s outcomes underscore the viability of this approach for environmental remediation, providing valuable insights into optimizing photocatalytic systems for dye removal in wastewater treatment.