Synthesis of BiFeo3 nanoparticles for the visible-light induced photocatalytic property

•Facile synthesis of BiFeO3 (BFO) nanoparticles with tunable size and band gap.•The influences of precursor concentration and annealing temperature are clarified.•XPS is employed to identify the surface state of synthesized particles.•BFO has tunable visible-light response and can efficiently degrade methyl orange.

Designand preparation of photocatalyst with a visible-light response and high separation efficiency is important for its application in photocatalytic technique. In this presentation, sol–gel method was employed to prepare BiFeO3 photocatalyst using Fe(NO3)3·9H2O and Bi(NO3)3·5H2O as the starting materials. Only ethylene glycol (C2H6O2, EG) was used as the solvent and no other surfactants were used. The influences of precursor solution concentration and calcination temperature on the formation of purity and the crystallite size of BiFeO3 were investigated. Well-dispersed BiFeO3 nanoparticles with tunable size and band gap could be synthesized at 500 °C. The as-prepared BiFeO3 nanoparticles were used in degradation methyl orange (MO) and MO could be effectively degraded under visible light.

Graphical abstractBiFeO3 nanoparticles with tunable particle sizes and visible-light responses could be synthesized by altering the precursor solution concentrations and calcination temperatures. XPS analysis further confirms that the synthesized sample is pure phase (inset).Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide