Visible-Light Driven BiFeO3 Nanosized Photocatalysts Prepared by a Sol-Gel Process

Abstract:

The single perovskite BiFeO₃ nanoparticles were prepared by a sol-gel process. The BiFeO₃ nanoparticles were characterized by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) method. It was found that the prepared BiFeO₃ nanoparticles show the large specific surface area of 136 m²/g, and narrow band gap of 2.12 eV. Consequently, BiFeO₃ nanoparticles show high visible-light photocatalytic activity for decomposition of methylene blue in comparison with the commercial Degussa P25. It is concluded that the large specific surface area and the narrow band gap contribute to the high visible-light photocatalytic activity through enhanced adsorption capability and visible-light absorption.

• Periodical: Applied Mechanics and Materials (Volumes 110-116)
• Pages: 1912-1917
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMM.110-116.1912
• Online since: October 2011
• Authors: Pei Song Tang, Hai Feng Chen, Feng Cao, Guo Xiang Pan, Min Hong Xu, Kun Yan Wang, Yan Hua Tong
• Keywords: BiFeO3, Nanomaterial, Sol-Gel (SG), Visible-Light Photocatalysis

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