Single BiFeO3 and mixed BiFeO3/Fe2O3/Bi2Fe4O9 ferromagnetic photocatalysts for solar light driven water oxidation and dye pollutants degradation

A simple synthesis route is presented to obtain single BiFeO3 and mixed BiFeO3/Fe2O3 /Bi2Fe4O9 photocatalysts. The obtained samples were characterized to analyze their structural, magnetic, optical and physical-chemical properties. The role of additional phases, i.e. Bi2Fe4O9 and Fe2O3 in the BiFeO3 structure, was analyzed by investigating sunlight-driven water oxidation and degradation of different dye pollutants. The achieved results suggest formation of BiFe03/Fe2O3/Bi2Fe4O9 heterojunction-like interfaces, that induce lower e(-)/h(+). recombination rate, thus enhancing photoactivity than bare BiFeO3. Additionally, BiFeO3/Fe2O3/Bi2Fe4O9 has exclusive feature of being magnetically separated from treated media and its stability was demonstrated for at least 3 cycles of dye degradation. (C) 2018 The Korean Society of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.