Asian Journal of Green Chemistry
3.8(Q2)
CiteScore
27
h-index

Citrus Peel–Mediated Microwave Synthesis of Ag-Modified BiVO4 as High-Performance Nanophotocatalysts for Congo Red Photodegradation under Visible Light

Articles in Press

Document Type : Original Research Article

Authors

Eko Sri Kunarti 1
Ria Puspitaningrum 1
Dewi Agustiningsih 2
Akhmad Syoufian 1
Sri Juari Santosa 1
Tretya Ardyani 3
Aldino Javier Saviola 1

1 Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Sekip Utara, Yogyakarta 55281, Indonesia

2 Division of Inorganic and Physical Chemistry, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Institut Teknologi Bandung, Jalan Ganesha No. 10, Bandung 40132, Indonesia

3 Research Center for Molecular Chemistry, National Research and Innovation Agency, Building 452 KST BJ Habibie, Serpong Tangerang Selatan, Banten, Indonesia

10.48309/ajgc.2026.563686.1880
Abstract
BiVO4 and Ag-modified BiVO4 photocatalysts were prepared using Citrus sinensis peel extract through a microwave-assisted method. The effects of extract volume, microwave irradiation time, calcination temperature, and Bi:V precursor ratio were examined to track their influence on the structural and morphological properties of BiVO4. FT-IR confirmed the presence of phytochemical functional groups, and XRD showed monoclinic scheelite BiVO4 with minor tetragonal zircon contributions across the synthesis conditions. SEM-EDX and TEM analyses revealed variations in particle dispersion, and Ag deposition produced small Ag nanoparticles (approximately 7 nm) on the BiVO4 surface. UV–Vis, BET, and XPS measurements indicated changes in optical absorption, surface area, and surface oxygen environments after Ag addition. Photocatalytic evaluation was carried out using 10 ppm Congo Red at pH 3 with 30 mg catalyst under visible-light irradiation for 120 min. Under these conditions, the sample containing 3 wt% Ag showed the highest degradation efficiency and followed pseudo–first-order kinetics, while maintaining its activity over repeated cycles. These results suggest that citrus peel extract can be used as a biogenic medium for microwave synthesis and that controlled Ag loading provides a route to adjust the photocatalytic response of BiVO4.

Graphical Abstract

Citrus Peel–Mediated Microwave Synthesis of Ag-Modified BiVO4 as High-Performance Nanophotocatalysts for Congo Red Photodegradation under Visible Light

Keywords

Ag-modified BiVO4
Citrus sinensis peel extract
photocatalyst
Congo red

Subjects

©2026 The author(s). This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons license and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this license, visit: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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Sami Publishing Company

Asian Journal of Green Chemistry

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 24 February 2026

  • Receive Date 02 December 2025
  • Revise Date 05 January 2026
  • Accept Date 07 February 2026

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