Weiwei Mao

Facile fabrication of highly efficient g-C3N4/BiFeO3 nanocomposites with enhanced visible light photocatalytic activities

Graphitic carbon nitride/bismuth ferrite (g-C3N4/BiFeO3) nanocomposites with various g-C3N4 contents have been synthesized by a simple method. After the deposition-precipitation process, the novel BiFeO3 spindle-like nanoparticles with the size of ∼100 nm were homogeneously decorated on the surfaces of the C3N4 nanosheets. A possible deposition growth mechanism is proposed on the basis of experimental results. The as-prepared g-C3N4/BiFeO3 composites exhibit high efficiency for the degradation of methyl orange (MO) under visible light irradiation, which can be mainly attributed to the synergic effect between g-C3N4 and BiFeO3. The ability to tune surface and interfacial characteristics for the optimization of photophysical properties suggests that the deposition growth process may enable formation of hybrids suitable for a range of photocatalytic applications based on g-C3N4.

Low-temperature fabrication of Bi25FeO40/rGO nanocomposites with efficient photocatalytic performance under visible light irradiation

Bismuth ferrite/reduced graphene oxide (Bi25FeO40/rGO) nanocomposites have been synthesized by a hydrothermal method, followed by a simple room temperature liquid phase process. Interestingly, X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy analyses indicated that the presence of rGO triggered the transformation of perovskite phase BiFeO3 to sillenite phase Bi25FeO40 at room temperature, while the spindle-like morphology was maintained. Under visible light irradiation, the obtained Bi25FeO40/rGO nanocomposites exhibit high photocatalytic performance for the degradation of methyl orange (MO), suggesting potential applications in photocatalytic and related areas. Furthermore, the function of rGO for the enhancement of photocatalytic activity and the probable mechanism were also discussed on the basis of the results.

Structural, optical and multiferroic properties of Eu, Ba co-doped BiFeO3

Sol–gel method is a commonly used method to prepare multiferroic BiFeO3 nanoparticles. By studying the effects of Eu and Ba co-doped on the structural, magnetic and ferroelectric properties of the samples, we found some regular features on the performance of this doped material. Optical absorption spectra indicate that the doping of Eu and Ba has an effect on the energy band structure. The analysis of UV spectrum shows that the band gap of this doped material is narrowed. Moreover, magnetic hysteresis data reveals a further enhancement of magnetism in the Eu and Ba co-doped sample. And the doping of Eu into BFO can reduce the leakage current and gain good ferroelectric properties.