High-piezocatalytic performance of eco-friendly (Bi1/2Na1/2)TiO3-based nanofibers by electrospinning

Piezocatalysis has been regarded as a great potential tool in water pollution treatment. In this report, eco-friendly piezoelectric 0.93(Bi1/2Na1/2)TiO3-0.07BaTiO3 (BNBT) nanofibers were prepared by electrospinning and calcined at various temperatures. The piezocatalytic activities of the BNBT nanofibers were examined by the degradation of various dyes. It is indicated that the BNBT nanofibers calcined at 650 °C exhibit the optimum piezocatalytic performance and a degradation rate of 0.0518 min−1 is achieved for Acid Orange 7. The kinetic investigations reveal that the sorption of the dye molecules on the surfaces of the nanofibers can be suppressed by increasing the initial concentration or ionic strength of the dye solution, thus the piezocatalytic degradation efficiency is deteriorated. While the pH value of the reaction system plays an insignificant role in the piezocatalytic degradation process. Moreover, the electrospun BNBT nanofibers exhibit a good reusability and wide universality for the piezocatalytic degradation, which is important for the practical applications. This work provides an in-depth understanding of the piezocatalytic mechanisms in the degradation of the organic dyes and opens a new route for the development of high-performance and eco-friendly piezocatalysts.