Comparative study of sol-gel and co-precipitation techniques for synthesizing Calotropis Procera-mediated bismuth ferrite for biomedical and environmental applications

Abstract

Bismuth ferrite (BiFeO₃) nanoparticles were synthesized using Calotropis procera leave extract via sol-gel and co-precipitation methods, yielding distinct structural and functional properties. The sol-gel method produced rhombohedral, rod-like nanoparticles with a crystallite size of 30.25 nm and a lower band gap of 2.31 eV. These characteristics contributed to superior photocatalytic degradation of Rhodamine B, achieving 90.1 % efficiency, alongside enhanced antibacterial activity against Bacillus cereus and Cocci, and higher antioxidant performance with a DPPH radical scavenging rate of 79.99 %. Conversely, the co-precipitation method resulted in rhombohedral, needle-like nanoparticles with a smaller crystallite size of 18.02 nm and a higher band gap of 3.6 eV, leading to lower Rhodamine B degradation efficiency (88.6 %) and reduced antibacterial and antioxidant activities. These findings highlight the effectiveness of the induction of Calotropis procera leave extract and sol-gel method in producing BiFeO₃ nanoparticles with superior properties for environmental and biomedical applications.