Oriented Growth of Bi2Fe4O9 Crystal and its Photocatalytic Activity

Oriented growth of Bi2Fe4O9 crystals were synthesized by a facile hydrothermal route in the presence of different organic additives. X-ray diffraction was used to characterize the derived powders, indicating that single-phase Bi2Fe4O9 with growth orientation along the (001) and (221) planes were obtained respectively. Extensive structural characterization of the as-prepared samples was observed using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, Scanning electron microscope, and UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectrum. The photocatalytic activity of Bi2Fe4O9 powders with different orientation was evaluated on degradation of methyl orange solution under visible light irradiation. The results show that the photocatalytic activity of the (001) plane is much higher than that of the (221) plane.