Facile and rapid biomimetic approach for synthesis of HAp nanofibers and evaluation of their photocatalytic activity

The present work reveals the simple and rapid biomimetic approach for the synthesis of hydroxyapatite (HAp) nanofibers using yeast extract. The photocatalytic activity of the HAp nanofibers was investigated using methylene blue (M.B.) dye in a photocatalytic reactor. The synthesis of HAp nanofibers was confirmed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Selected-area electron diffraction (SAED) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FOR). The photocatalytic activity of the HAp nanofibers was evaluated using reaction kinetics and its plausible mechanism was also studied. The results affirm that HAp nanofibers have suitable capability for degradation of M.B. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.