Degradation of dyes under natural light sources is one of the most active research areas in basic science for greener technology. In this context, the photocatalytic activity of semiconductors has received massive attention in solving water treatment-related issues as these possess enormous potential for degrading organic impurities. Here, we report that barium aluminate (BaAl₂O₄, BAO), which has been extensively studied for photoluminescence applications, is found to be a highly potent candidate for photocatalytic activities. We have explored the degradation of dyes (meant for water purification) by using the photocatalytic properties of pure and Dy- and Yb-codoped BAO. Crystal structure, electron microscopy, and Raman analysis of the autocombustion-synthesized pure and codoped BAO samples revealed significant morphological changes such as increased particle size and stabilization of rod-like structures. UV–vis absorbance measurements confirm the presence of multiple bandgaps in the BAO samples, which is substantiated by X-ray absorption spectroscopy measurements. Photocatalytic degradation studies of methylene blue (MB) dye (with different catalyst concentrations, dopings, and MB dye concentrations) have been carried out by using BAO. The kinetics of the photocatalytic degradation measurements has been explained by the Boltzmann distribution function, and the fastest (in less than 40 min), with more than 99% degradation of MB impurity, is reported here for the first time in BAO compounds. Synthesized BAO samples show excellent cyclic stability, which is essential for their potential applications in environmental remediation. The trade-off between the enhancement of surface area and increased particle size is considered the key parameter for controlling the photocatalytic performance of the BAO catalyst after Dy and Yb codopings.

中文翻译：

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BaAl2O4 对水净化的光催化活性

自然光源下染料的降解是绿色技术基础科学中最活跃的研究领域之一。在这种背景下，半导体的光催化活性在解决水处理相关问题方面受到了广泛关注，因为它们具有降解有机杂质的巨大潜力。在这里，我们报道了铝酸钡（BaAl ₂ O ₄，BAO），其在光致发光应用中已被广泛研究，被发现是光催化活性的高效候选者。我们利用纯 BAO 以及 Dy 和 Yb 共掺杂 BAO 的光催化特性探索了染料的降解（用于水净化）。自燃烧合成的纯 BAO 样品和共掺杂 BAO 样品的晶体结构、电子显微镜和拉曼分析揭示了显着的形态变化，例如颗粒尺寸增加和棒状结构稳定。紫外可见吸光度测量证实了 BAO 样品中存在多个带​​隙，X 射线吸收光谱测量证实了这一点。使用 BAO 进行了亚甲基蓝 (MB) 染料（具有不同催化剂浓度、掺杂和 MB 染料浓度）的光催化降解研究。光催化降解测量的动力学已通过玻尔兹曼分布函数进行了解释，并且首次在 BAO 化合物中报道了最快（不到 40 分钟），MB 杂质降解率超过 99%。合成的 BAO 样品表现出优异的循环稳定性，这对于它们在环境修复中的潜在应用至关重要。 Dy和Yb共掺杂后，表面积增加和粒径增加之间的权衡被认为是控制BAO催化剂光催化性能的关键参数。