Size-tunable fabrication of BiFeO₃ nanoparticles with enhanced visible-light photocatalytic activity using a facile co-precipitation method

Nanocasting synthesis of BiFeO3 nanoparticles with enhanced visible-light photocatalytic activity

“…The observed bandgap energy of 2.07 eV is considerably smaller than that of bulk BiFeO 3 and comparable to those found in the literature for similarly sized particles [ 6 , 23 , 29 , 53 ]. However, we would like to point out that a comparison of bandgap values with different BiFeO 3 samples is very difficult as particle shape, size, phase purity, as well as oxygen vacancies have a strong impact on the electronic structure of the resulting material.…”

“…The catalytic performance in terms of overall degradation efficiency of the 5.5 nm particles is significantly superior compared to those of similarly sized particles reported. It also much improved when compared with samples free of surface defects synthesized by a previously reported co-precipitation method (Figure 5c) and bulk material (Figure 5d) [6]. The increase in efficiency when compared to larger particles can be explained by the lower bandgap and, certainly, by the higher surface area of the smaller particles.…”

“…5 ) and bulk material ( Fig. 5 ) [ 6 ]. The increase in efficiency when compared to larger particles can be explained by the lower bandgap and, certainly, by the higher surface area of the smaller particles.…”

“…In particular, water pollution is one of the most challenging problems to face [2][3][4]. The quantity of wastewater produced as well as the overall pollution level are continuously increasing around the globe [5,6]. For instance, more than 80% of the globally generated wastewater flows back into the environment untreated.…”

Reusable BiFeO3 Nanofiber-Based Membranes for Photo-activated Organic Pollutant Removal with Negligible Colloidal Release

“…This earlier study also confirms that the band gap is not necessarily a critical parameter, as the particles with the lowest band gap do not always yield the best photocatalytic properties. Meanwhile, most papers tend to conclude that smaller structures are more efficient because of the lower band gap without investigating the surface defects. − However, varying the dimensions of the BFO nanostructures also tend to produce significant morphology fluctuations, which can in turn affect their properties . Overall, it appears that a compromise should be found between the size, band gap, and surface-state defect density for the BFO nanoparticles to achieve optimal photocatalytic efficiency.…”