Facile synthesis of BiFeO3 nanoparticles by modified microwave-assisted hydrothermal method as visible light driven photocatalysts

BiFeO3 nanoparticles (BFO-NPs) have been successfully synthesized through modified microwave-assisted hydrothermal method. The obtained BFO-NP was hexagonal phase with R3c structure and covered with a large number of surface hydroxyl groups. Compared with the bulk BiFeO3 microsphere, BFO-NP has much higher purity and similar band gap energy, about 2.10 eV. The photocatalytic performance of BFO-NP was evaluated by Rhodamine B (RhB) removal without any sacrificial agent under visible-light irradiation. A fivefold increase in the rate of RhB degradation and mineralization was obtained, which should result from effective separation of the electron-hole pairs. Furthermore, the scavenger-experiments reveal that photo-generated holes and hydroxyl radicals were the primary reactive species. This study opens a new pathway to synthesize BiFeO3 nanoparticle by hydrothermal method and provides a referential route for other perovskite photocatalysts.