Photocatalytic activity, optical and ferroelectric properties of Bi 0.8 Nd 0.2 FeO 3 nanoparticles synthesized by sol-gel and hydrothermal methods

Abstract

In this study, the effects of synthesis method and dopant Neodymium ion on the ferroelectric properties and photocatalytic activity of bismuth ferrite were studied. BiFeO3 (BFO) and Bi0.8Nd0.2FeO3 (BNFO) nanoparticles were prepared through a facile sol-gel combustion (SG) and hydrothermal (HT) methods. The as-prepared products were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), Furrier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and transmission electron microscope (TEM) images. Both nanophotocatalysts have similar crystal structures, but the SG products have semi-spherical morphology. On the other hand, HT samples have rod-like morphology. TEM results indicated that the morphology of products was not affected by the doping process. The thermal, optical and magnetic properties of nanoparticles were investigated by thermogravitometry and differential thermal analysis (TG/DTA), UV-vis spectroscopy, and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). The ferroelectric properties of BNFO nanoparticles were improved compared to the undoped bismuth ferrite. The photocatalytic activity of as-synthesized nanoparticles was also evaluated by the degradation of methyl orange (MO) under visible light irradiation. The photocatalytic activity of nanoparticles prepared via sol-gel method exhibited a higher photocatalytic activity compared to powders obtained by hydrothermal method. Also substitution of Nd into the BFO structure increased the photocatalytic activity of products.

Properties and Modification of Bismuth‐Layered Structure Ferroelectric Materials and Application in Sports

“…The early work of ferroelectric materials mainly focused on Rochelle salt, KNa(C 4 H 4 O 6 )•4H 2 O. Although the research of Rochelle's salt has established many basic properties of ferroelectric materials, the complex structure and the large number of atoms in each cell make it difficult to give a microscopic theory to clarify ferroelectricity from an experimental point of view [7]. At present, the widely studied ferroelectric system is the perovskite structure oxide ABO3.…”

Structure and Lattice Dynamics of Bi1−xNdxFeO3 and Bi1−xGdxFeO3 Ceramics near the Morphotropic Phase Boundary

“…In the region of low wavelengths, the spectra show a decrease in the intensity of the reflection coefficient which is related to the decrease in the permittivity for high energy radiation, while this tendency is violated upon chemical doping. Figure 3 shows an evolution of two main vibrational modes at λ = 18.2 µm and 22.6 µm (550 cm −1 and 440 cm −1 ) from 12 total modes (4 A and 8 E types) usually observed within the spectral range 50-700 cm −1 [16,17]. The vibrational mode at 18.2 µm is symmetrical transverse optical phonon mode noted as A 1 (TO4), while that at 22.6 µm is doubly degenerated transverse optical phonon mode E(TO8).…”

Comparison of the structure–property relationships between sillenite and perovskite phases of Bi0.9Dy0.1FeO3 nanostructures

“…The authors compared the structural, electric, and magnetic properties of the materials with average grain sizes of 0.6 and 0.9 μm for the sol–gel and the solid-state reaction techniques, respectively. Furthermore, an attempt was taken to compare the properties of Bi 0.8 Nd 0.2 FeO 3 materials prepared by hydrothermal and sol–gel techniques, 30 however, their crystallographic phases were not precisely identified, the amount of oxygen vacancies was not quantified and their catalytic efficiency was evaluated only for the color probe methyl orange without performing a scavenger test to explore the role of active species in the photocatalytic reactions.…”