Doughnut-Shaped NdFeO3 Perovskite/Porous In2O3 as a Promising Heterojunction Photocatalyst for Organic Pollutants Removal

In this work, a novel highly efficient perovskite type NdFeO3/porous In2O3 heterojunction photocatalyst is designed through a simple solvothermal process. The as-synthesized photocatalysts were characterized by XRD, Raman, FT-IR, UV-vis DRS, FE-SEM, HR-TEM, and XPS characterization techniques. The superior photo-Fenton (PhF) degradation efficiency of the NdFeO3/In2O3 heterojunction photocatalyst is notably higher for coloured pollutants, upon visible light irradiation. The photocatalytic degradation of rhodamine-B (rhB) over the NdFeO3/In2O3 heterojunction was higher (92.5%) than pure NdFeO3 and In2O3. Furthermore, the NdFeO3/In2O3 heterojunction photocatalyst also exhibits remarkable degradation performance in the visible light assisted PhF process of various pollutants (methylene blue, methyl orange, phenol, and tetracycline). The increase in photocatalytic performances of the NdFeO3/In2O3 heterojunction is credited to the improvement in efficiency of separating electron-hole pairs and superior PhF mechanism from the perovskite type NdFeO3. The improved visible light degradation efficiency and PhF process of the prepared material could be utilized in real-world effluents and waste water treatment processes.