Watermelon seeds-mediated synthesis of bismuth iron oxide nanostructures for water treatment and energy storage applications
9 affiliations
- 1Department of Physics, Government College Women University Sialkot, 51310, Pakistan
- 2Department of Physics, Government College Women University Sialkot, 51310, Pakistan; Corresponding author.
- 3Department of Physics, University of Narowal, Narowal, Pakistan
- 4Department of Chemistry, University of Science and Technology, Bannu, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
- 5Department of Applied Sciences, National Textile University, Faisalabad, Punjab, Pakistan
- 6Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Dow College of Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Dow University of Health Sciences, Ojha Campus, Karachi, Pakistan
- 7Department of Environmental Engineering, University of Engineering and Technology Taxila, Punjab, Pakistan
- 8Public Health Engineering Department, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
- 9Department of Chemical Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Bahrain, Manama, Bahrain
Abstract
Renewable functional materials, derived from sustainable sources, enhance protection, functionality, and performance. These materials are crucial for addressing environmental issues and fostering sustainable practices. This study reports the sustainable, synthesis of bismuth iron oxide (BiFeO 3 ) nanostructures using watermelon seeds waste as an organic additive (0.1 g, 0.2 g, 0.3 g 0.4 g and 0.5 g) via a sol-gel method. The synthesized nanomaterials were optimized as dual-functional platforms for the photocatalytic degradation of crystal violet dye and supercapacitor applications. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis confirmed the phase purity of the rhombohedral BiFeO 3 structure. Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy verified the characteristic broad bands corresponding to the Fe–O stretching vibration along the axis and the bending vibration mode within the FeO 6 octahedral unit. Field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) revealed the formation of rod like- structure. The specific surface area is calculated ~ 22.676 m²/g using the Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) method. Photocatalytic evaluations demonstrated excellent catalytic efficiency (96.6%) under sunlight against crystal violet. This enhanced activity is attributed to the high surface area and abundant reactive sites offered by the nanorods morphology, obeying pseudo-first-order kinetics (R 2 = 0.9895, k = 0.03887 min −1 . Furthermore, electrochemical evaluations via cyclic voltammetry (CV) verified the pseudocapacitive behavior of all samples. These findings highlight the potential of watermelon-assisted synthesis for developing high-performance, cost-effective, and multifunctional materials for environmental remediation and energy storage.
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BibTeX
@article{afzal2026watermelon,
title = {{Watermelon seeds-mediated synthesis of bismuth iron oxide nanostructures for water treatment and energy storage applications}},
author = {Tabinda Afzal and Mahwish Bashir and Amina Zahid and Waqar Ahmad and Muhammad Hamza Sardar and Sana Shamim and Sadia Nasreen and Musaab Habib Bangash and Mohd Saleh Al Ansari},
journal = {Desalination and Water Treatment},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1016/j.dwt.2026.101989},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dwt.2026.101989},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Watermelon seeds-mediated synthesis of bismuth iron oxide nanostructures for water treatment and energy storage applications
AU - Tabinda Afzal
AU - Mahwish Bashir
AU - Amina Zahid
AU - Waqar Ahmad
AU - Muhammad Hamza Sardar
AU - Sana Shamim
AU - Sadia Nasreen
AU - Musaab Habib Bangash
AU - Mohd Saleh Al Ansari
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/25
JO - Desalination and Water Treatment
DO - 10.1016/j.dwt.2026.101989
UR - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dwt.2026.101989
AB - Renewable functional materials, derived from sustainable sources, enhance protection, functionality, and performance. These materials are crucial for addressing environmental issues and fostering sustainable practices. This study reports the sustainable, synthesis of bismuth iron oxide (BiFeO 3 ) nanostructures using watermelon seeds waste as an organic additive (0.1 g, 0.2 g, 0.3 g 0.4 g and 0.5 g) via a sol-gel method. The synthesized nanomaterials were optimized as dual-functional platforms for the photocatalytic degradation of crystal violet dye and supercapacitor applications. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis confirmed the phase purity of the rhombohedral BiFeO 3 structure. Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy verified the characteristic broad bands corresponding to the Fe–O stretching vibration along the axis and the bending vibration mode within the FeO 6 octahedral unit. Field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) revealed the formation of rod like- structure. The specific surface area is calculated ~ 22.676 m²/g using the Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) method. Photocatalytic evaluations demonstrated excellent catalytic efficiency (96.6%) under sunlight against crystal violet. This enhanced activity is attributed to the high surface area and abundant reactive sites offered by the nanorods morphology, obeying pseudo-first-order kinetics (R 2 = 0.9895, k = 0.03887 min −1 . Furthermore, electrochemical evaluations via cyclic voltammetry (CV) verified the pseudocapacitive behavior of all samples. These findings highlight the potential of watermelon-assisted synthesis for developing high-performance, cost-effective, and multifunctional materials for environmental remediation and energy storage.
SN - 1944-3986
SN - 1944-3994
ER -