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Catalysts
Volume 12
Issue 2
10.3390/catal12020215
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Article

Experimental and Theoretical Investigations of Low-Dimensional BiFeO3 System for Photocatalytic Applications

by
Manal Benyoussef
1,
Sébastien Saitzek
2,
Nitul S. Rajput
3,
Matthieu Courty
4,
Mimoun El Marssi
1 and
Mustapha Jouiad
1,*
1
Laboratory of Physics of Condensed Matter (LPMC), University of Picardie Jules Verne, Scientific Pole, 33 Rue Saint-Leu, CEDEX 1, 80039 Amiens, France
2
Université d’Artois, CNRS, Centrale Lille, ENSCL, Université de Lille, UMR 8181, Unité de Catalyse et Chimie du Solide (UCCS), 62300 Lens, France
3
Advanced Materials Research Center, Technology Innovation Institute, Abu Dhabi P.O. Box 9639, United Arab Emirates
4
Laboratoire de Réactivité et de Chimie des Solides, UMR CNRS 7314, Hub de l’Énergie, Université de Picardie Jules Verne, 80000 Amiens, France
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Academic Editor: Maria A. Goula
Catalysts 2022, 12(2), 215; https://doi.org/10.3390/catal12020215
Received: 21 January 2022 / Revised: 4 February 2022 / Accepted: 9 February 2022 / Published: 12 February 2022
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Selective Catalysis for the Sustainable Energies)
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Abstract

We report on the fabrication of sub-20 nm BiFeO3 (BFO) nanoparticles using a solid-state approach and preferential leching process. The nanoparticles were subsequently used to deposit, through spray pyrolysis, BFO thin films in a rhombohedral (R3c) crystallographic structure. Then, systematic investigations of the optical and the photocatalytic properties were conducted to determine the effects of the particles size, the microstructure and the increased surface area on their catalytic performances. Especially, improved optical properties were observed, with an optical bandgap energy of 2.20 eV compared to reported 2.7 eV for the bulk system. In addition, high optical absorption was obtained in the UV–visible light region reaching up to 90% at 400 nm. The photoelectrochemical measurements revealed a high photocurrent density under visible light irradiation. Besides, density functional theory calculations were performed on both bulk and thin film BFO structures, revealing an interesting comparison of the electronic, magnetic, ferroelectric and optical properties for bulk and thin film BFO systems. Both theoretical and experimental findings show that the alignment of the band edges of BFO thin film is coherent with good photocatalytic water splitting potential, making them desirable photoanode materials. View Full-Text
Keywords: photocatalysis; BiFeO3 nanoparticles; high energy ball milling; spray pyrolysis; photoelectrochemical measurements; density functional theory photocatalysis; BiFeO3 nanoparticles; high energy ball milling; spray pyrolysis; photoelectrochemical measurements; density functional theory
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MDPI and ACS Style

Benyoussef, M.; Saitzek, S.; Rajput, N.S.; Courty, M.; El Marssi, M.; Jouiad, M. Experimental and Theoretical Investigations of Low-Dimensional BiFeO3 System for Photocatalytic Applications. Catalysts 2022, 12, 215. https://doi.org/10.3390/catal12020215

AMA Style

Benyoussef M, Saitzek S, Rajput NS, Courty M, El Marssi M, Jouiad M. Experimental and Theoretical Investigations of Low-Dimensional BiFeO3 System for Photocatalytic Applications. Catalysts. 2022; 12(2):215. https://doi.org/10.3390/catal12020215

Chicago/Turabian Style

Benyoussef, Manal, Sébastien Saitzek, Nitul S. Rajput, Matthieu Courty, Mimoun El Marssi, and Mustapha Jouiad. 2022. "Experimental and Theoretical Investigations of Low-Dimensional BiFeO3 System for Photocatalytic Applications" Catalysts 12, no. 2: 215. https://doi.org/10.3390/catal12020215

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