Effect of ferroelectric polarization on piezo/photocatalysis in Ag nanoparticles loaded 0.5(Ba0.7Ca0.3)TiO3–0.5Ba(Zr0.1Ti0.9)O3 composites towards the degradation of organic pollutants

Abstract A 0.5(Ba 0.7 Ca 0.3 )TiO 3 –0.5Ba(Zr 0.1 Ti 0.9 )O 3 (BCT‐BZT) ceramic was studied for photocatalysis and piezocatalysis effects using dye degradation (methylene blue, rhodamine B, and methyl orange) and bacterial ( Escherichia coli ) disinfection from aqueous solution. To examine the effect of ferroelectric polarization, BCT‐BZT powder was poled using the corona poling technique. Same time, BCT‐BZT was converted into Ag/BCT‐BZT composites as Ag induced surface plasmon resonance effect during photocatalysis. Piezocatalysis performance was assessed for dyes mineralization under ultrasonication. There was a significant impact of silver nanoparticles on the photo/piezocatalysis performance of BCT‐BZT. Similarly, electric poling has also played a positive role in improving the photo/piezocatalysis in view of various dye degradation. These samples also showed effective antibacterial performance.