Photocatalytic application of BiFeO3 synthesized via a facile microwave-assisted solution combustion method

Bismuth ferrite (BiFeO 3 ) nanopowder have been successfully synthesized for the first time via a microwave-assisted sol-gel combustion method by using citric acid as fuel. The resulting nanopowder was characterized using FT-IR, TG-DTA, XRD, EDX, VSM, SEM, and UV-Vis DRS. A ferromagnetic hysteresis loop with a saturation magnetization ( M S ) of 0.66 emu g −1 has been observed at room temperature in the sample. The optical properties of the nanosized BiFeO 3 showed its small band gap (=2.08 eV) indicates a possibility of utilizing much visible light for photocatalysis. Highlights BiFeO 3 nanopowder was synthesized via a microwave-assisted combustion method. Citric acid was utilized as fuel for the first time to prepare BiFeO 3 . A ferromagnetic hysteresis loop with a M S of 0.66 emu/g has been observed at RT. The small band gap of 2.08 eV make it a visible light driven photocatalyst.