A high surface area ordered mesoporous BiFeO3 semiconductor with efficient water oxidation activity

Bismuth ferrite (BiFeO3) is an important multiferroic oxide material because of its unique magnetic and ferroelectric properties. Here, we synthesize for the first time a highly ordered mesoporous BiFeO3 semiconductor using tartaric acid-assisted growth of the BiFeO3 compound inside the pores of a carbon template. Powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and N-2 physisorption measurements reveal that the template-free material possesses a three-dimensional hexagonal mesostructure with a Large internal BET surface area (141 m(2) g(-1)) and narrow sized pores (ca. 4 nm). Aka, the pore was comprise single-phase BiFeO3 nanocrystals according to the high-resolution TEM, electron diffraction and magnetic experiments. The mesoporous BiFeO3 shows high activity for the photocatalytic oxygen evolution reaction (OER) under UV-visible Light (lambda > 380 nm), affording an average oxygen evolution rate of 66 mu mol h(-1) g(-1). We also show that the propensity of photogenerated hales for the OER can be significanty enhanced when 1 wt% Au nanoparticles are deposited on the BiFeO3 surface. The Au/BiFeO3 heterostructure exerts excellent OER activity (586 mu mol h(-1) g(-1)) and Long-term cycling stability, raising the possibility for the design of effective and robust OER photocatalysts.