Relaxor ferroelectric and photocatalytic properties of BaBi₄Ti₄O₁₅

Abstract

Aurivillius phase BaBi4Ti4O15 micro-sized powders were produced by solid-state reaction and their photocatalytic properties were reported for the first time. X-ray diffraction revealed the polar orthorhombic structure. BaBi4Ti4O15 ceramics exhibited diffuse phase transition at ~ 410 °C. The freezing temperature of 274 °C was obtained by fitting the Vogel-Fulcher law. The distinct ferroelectric domain switching current peaks in current-electric field (I-E) loop and piezoelectric coefficient d33 value of 7.0 ± 0.1 pC/N at room temperature further demonstrated relaxor ferroelectric behavior of BaBi4Ti4O15. UV-vis absorption spectra indicated that BaBi4Ti4O15 had a direct band gap of 3.2 eV. The photocatalytic study showed 15 % degradation of Rhodamine B (RhB) solution by BaBi4Ti4O15 powders after 3.5 h UV-vis irradiation. The RhB degradation rate was further enhanced by depositing Ag nanoparticles on the BaBi4Ti4O15 powders surface. This work suggested that the relaxor ferroelectric BaBi4Ti4O15 is promising for photocatalytic applications.

Ferroelectric and photocatalytic properties of Aurivillius phase Ca2Bi4Ti5O18

“…This can enhance the separation of photoexcited electrons and holes, and thus increase the photocatalytic activity of C2BT-Ag. 22,30,31…”

“…As a noble metal with excellent electronic conductivity, Ag can act as “electron traps” when deposited on the C2BT powder surface. This can enhance the separation of photoexcited electrons and holes, and thus increase the photocatalytic activity of C2BT‐Ag 22,30,31 …”

“…27,28,29 These metal nanoparticles can increase light absorption due to a surface plasmon resonance and extend the charge carrier lifetime by working as "electron traps" to separate photoexcited electrons and holes, which results in improved photocatalytic efficiency. 22,30,31 Compared to ferroelectric photocatalysts with perovskite structure, Aurivillius ferroelectrics with more complex structure remained largely unexplored. Therefore, it is imperative to examine new photocatalysts with Aurivillius phase and the effect of Ag nanoparticle decoration on photocatalytic properties.…”

“…Moreover, to further improve photocatalytic efficiency, noble metal nanoparticles (such as Ag, Au, Pt, etc ) are often deposited onto the surface of ferroelectric photocatalysts to form the co‐catalyst 27,28,29 . These metal nanoparticles can increase light absorption due to a surface plasmon resonance and extend the charge carrier lifetime by working as “electron traps” to separate photoexcited electrons and holes, which results in improved photocatalytic efficiency 22,30,31 . Compared to ferroelectric photocatalysts with perovskite structure, Aurivillius ferroelectrics with more complex structure remained largely unexplored.…”

Solvent Engineering for High-Performance Two-Dimensional Ruddlesden–Popper CsPbI3 Solar Cells

“…Among them, the ⟨100⟩-oriented 2D perovskites have attracted wide attention. It can be divided into four types according to different kinds of organic spacer cations at A sites, namely, the Ruddlesden–Popper (RP) phase, the Dion–Jacobson (DJ) phase, the alternating cation (ACI) phase, and the Aurivillius phase. − The Aurivillius phase and the ACI phase adopt the general formulas (Bi 2 O 2 )­(A n –1 B n X 3 n +1 ) and (GA)­A n B n X 3 n +1 (GA + = guanidinium), respectively. The RP phase and DJ phase perovskites have the chemical formula A′ m A n –1 B n X 3 n +1 , for the RP phase, where A′ represents a large monovalent organic cation ( m = 2), such as butylammonium­(BA + ) or phenylethylammonium (PEA + ), while for the DJ phase, A′ represents a divalent organic cation ( m = 1), such as 3-(aminomethyl)­piperidinium (3AMP 2+ ) or 1,4-butanediamine (BDA 2+ ). ,− Moreover, n denotes the number of inorganic [PbI 6 ] 4– octahedral layers .…”