Facile combustion synthesis of highly active Mo doped BiVO4 for photocatalytic dye degradation, photo-oxidation of alcohols, antifungal and antioxidant activities (original) (raw)

This work represents the facile and green synthesis of Molybdenum (Mo)-doped bismuth vanadate (BiVO4). Green synthesis of Modoped BiVO4 was done using combustion technique using Mangifera indica (Mango) leaf extract as the fuel for combustion. The material synthesised was pure and characterised using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, high resolution transmission electron microscopy, ultraviolet–visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and photoluminescence (PL). It was found that Mo-doped BiVO4 had monoclinic scheelite phase, with a bandgap of 3.71 eV. Various application was possible from the synthesised material like photodegradation of Malachite Green, a typical organic which showed excellent degradation efficiency of 99% under 120 minutes. The catalyst also gave up to 95% yields in the light-assisted oxidation of aromatic alcohols to corresponding aldehydes. The material also showed excellent antioxidant properties showing 6.7 μg of ascorbic acid equivalence (AAE). It gave an excellent minimum lethal dosage (MLD) of 500 μg against Penicillium and Trichoderma fungal strains and showed maximum of 32 mm zone of inhibition. These applications show the versatility of the material to be used in various fields.