effect of light irradiation on the photocatalytic activity of bifeo3 nanopowder

The application of advanced materials in environmental remediation and degradation of organic pollutants is an attractive approach as it uses clean solar energy. bifeo3 is currently receiving great attention in the photodegradation of dyes. bifeo3 photocatalyst was successfully synthesized through a facile method of mechanical milling of bi2o3 and fe2o3 powder mixture and subsequent heat treatment. the obtained powders were characterized by x-ray diffraction (xrd) and field emission scanning electron microscopy (fesem). the photocatalytic activity was evaluated by photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue (mb) in aqueous solution under visible light irradiation. the prepared sample bi2o3:fe2o3 (1:1) exhibited the highest photocatalytic activity under a 400w lamp showing about 70% of mb degradation within 300 min. this provides a new sight for the synthesis and application of an efficient bifeo3 photocatalyst.