Enhanced magnetic and photocatalytic properties of BiFeO3 nanotubes with ultrathin wall thickness

In this work, hollow BiFeO3 nanotubes with ultrathin wall thickness were successfully synthesized via a template approach by using anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) as the template. The structure, morphology, magnetic properties and photocatalytic activity of the hollow BiFeO3 nanotubes were characterized in detail. The results showed that the as-prepared BiFeO3 nanotubes exhibited hollow tubular structure with external diameter of similar to 50 nm and wall thickness of 5 nm, respectively. In addition, enhanced magnetic properties with saturation magnetization (Ms) value of 1.74 emu.g(-1), low photoluminescence (PL) intensity and large surface-to-volume ratio were observed. Compared to the BiFeO3 nanofibres and BiFeO3 nanoparticles, the BiFeO3 nanotubes exhibited the best photocatalytic activity and stability to the degradation of methylene blue (MB) under visible light irradiation. According to the analysis of the photocatalytic mechanism, the enhanced photocatalytic activity can be ascribed to the unique one-dimensional hollow nanotubular structure with ultrathin wall thickness and enhanced magnetic properties.

Automated summary

Hollow BiFeO3 nanotubes with ultrathin wall thickness were successfully synthesized via template approach, exhibiting enhanced magnetic properties and photocatalytic activity. Compared to BiFeO3 nanofibres and nanoparticles, the nanotubes showed the best degradation efficiency for methylene blue under visible light irradiation, attributed to their unique one-dimensional hollow nanotubular structure with ultrathin wall thickness and enhanced magnetic properties.