Short communicationThe photocatalysis of BiFeO3 disks under visible light irradiation

•Disk shaped BiFeO3 crystallites were synthesized via a hydrothermal method.•The •OH radicals generated in the Fenton reaction are the primary active radicals.•TA fluorescence probing technique was applied to measure the concentration of •OH.•The concentration of •OH achieved a maximum at H2O2 of 80 mM and BiFeO3 of 2.0 g/L.•MO degradation rate achieved 97% under the optimal photocatalysis conditions.

The photocatalytic process of BiFeO3 disks under visible light irradiation can be termed as photo-Fenton-like reaction. The active hydroxyl radicals (•OH) generated during the photocatalytic process were quantified using a terephthalic acid (TA) fluorescence probing technique, which were proved to be greatly influenced by the loading of H2O2 and catalyst dosage. Our results showed that the photocatalytic efficiency was enhanced with the increasing •OH concentration. There is an optimal loading of H2O2 (80 mM) and catalyst dosage (2.0 g/L), at which the photocatalytic degradation rate of MO was enhanced to 97% under visible light irradiation for 3 h.

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