BiFeO3/Fe2O3 electrode for photoelectrochemical water oxidation and photocatalytic dye degradation: A single step synthetic approach

Herein, mixed-phase BiFeO3/Fe2O3 (BF-M) nanocomposite has been successfully prepared in a simple single-step synthetic strategy and its structural, physicochemical and magnetic properties have been characterized. The performance of as-synthesized mixed-phase BF-M catalyst has been investigated in photoelectrochemical (PEC) water oxidation and photocatalytic dye degradation analysis by comparing with the partials Fe2O3 with BiFeO3 (BF-P). The BF-M photocatalyst has degraded 95.7% of the rhodamine B (RhB) dye while BF-P has degraded 82.1% in 80 min. In addition, the BF-M electrode exhibited 0.57 mA cm(-2) photocurrent density which was 1.83 times higher than the BF-P electrode (0.31 mA cm(-2)), signifying that the formation of a mixed-phase nano structure interface is advantageous in enhancing light absorption capacity and reducing the rate of electron-hole recombination.

Automated summary

In this study, mixed-phase BiFeO3/Fe2O3 (BF-M) nanocomposite was successfully prepared and characterized. The performance of the BF-M catalyst was evaluated in photoelectrochemical water oxidation and photocatalytic dye degradation analysis. The results showed that the BF-M photocatalyst exhibited higher degradation efficiency and photocurrent density compared to the partials Fe2O3 with BiFeO3 (BF-P), which is attributed to the formation of a mixed-phase nano structure interface.