Visible-light photocatalytic properties of weak magnetic BiFeO3 nanoparticles

Polycrystalline BiFeO3 nanoparticles (size 80-120 nm) are prepared by a simple sol-gel technique. Such nanoparticles are very efficient for photocatalytic decomposition of organic contaminants under irradiation from ultraviolet to visible frequencies. The BiFeO3 nanoparticles also demonstrate weak ferromagnetism of about 0.06 mu(B)/Fe at room temperature, in good agreement with theoretical calculations.