Synthesis of a novel visible light-driven and magnetically separable photocatalyst based on BiFeO3-YFeO3 type II heterojunction

Abstract

Nanocomposites based on BiFeO3 -YFeO3 system with different phases ratio have been synthesized by the solution combustion route. The nominal compositions were set to Bi 1- x Y x FeO3 with x = 0.1, 0.3, 0.4, 0.5, 0.6, 0.7, and 0.9 labeled from BYFO-01 to BYFO-09. Glycine was used as a reducing agent for the combustion reaction. The average crystallite size of the obtained materials was in the range of 25-90 nm. A study of the magnetic characteristics and photocatalytic activity of the samples showed that a change in their phase composition significantly enhances their total magnetization and the photodegradation of Rhodamine B dye.All samples have magnetic ordering at room temperature and increased magnetization compared to bismuth and yttrium orthoferrites. It was found that nanocomposite BYFO-04 possessing enhanced photocatalytic activity, that was attributed to approximately 1:1 orthoferrites phases ratio. The increased magnetization of BYFO-05-07 nanocomposites has been explained by the phase composition, which can be technologically controlled. The discovered properties of the synthesized materials are promising for the effective separation of photocatalysts from the reaction medium. The ease synthesis method, photocatalytic and magnetic responses combined with environmentally benign iron sources, make BiFeO3 -YFeO3 nanocomposites promising materials for photocatalytic systems, and memory recording applications.