Enhanced Photocatalytic Activity of NaBH₄ Reduced BiFeO₃ Nanoparticles for Rhodamine B Decolorization

• Published in: Materials Vol. 10; no. 10; p. 1118
• Main Authors: Di, Lijing, Yang, Hua, Xian, Tao, Chen, Xiujuan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 22.09.2017; MDPI
• Subjects: BiFeO3; Bismuth ferrite; Catalytic activity; Decoloring; Electron microscopy; Nanoparticles; Oxygen; oxygen vacancies; Photocatalysis; Reduction; Rhodamine; Vacancies; X ray photoelectron spectroscopy; photocatalysis; BiFeO3; oxygen vacancies
• ISSN: 1996-1944; 1996-1944
• DOI: 10.3390/ma10101118

In this work, oxygen vacancies were introduced onto the surface of BiFeO₃ nanoparticles by NaBH₄ reduction method to yield oxygen-deficient BiFeO samples. Comprehensive analysis on the basis of high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) observation and X-ray photoelectron spectrum (XPS) confirms the existence of surface oxygen vacancies on the BiFeO nanoparticles. The photocatalytic activity of as-prepared BiFeO samples was evaluated by the decolorization of rhodamine B (RhB) under simulated sunlight irradiation. The experimental results indicate that the photocatalytic activity of samples is highly related to the NaBH₄ reduction time, and the BiFeO sample reduced for 40 min exhibits the highest photocatalytic efficiency, which is much higher than that of pristine BiFeO₃ nanoparticles. This can be explained by the fact that the surface oxygen vacancies act as photoinduced charges acceptors and adsorption sites suppress the recombination of photogenerated charges, leading to an increasing availability of photogenerated electrons and holes for photocatalytic reaction. In addition, the obtained BiFeO sample exhibits good photocatalytic reusability.