Electrospinning of magnetical bismuth ferrite nanofibers with photocatalytic activity

Bismuth ferrite (BiFeO₃) nanofibers were prepared by combining the electrospinning technique with sol-gel chemistry. The structural features of the as-prepared nanofibers were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The obtained BiFeO₃ nanofibers showed a rhombohedral perovskite structure after getting annealed in an argon atmosphere. Both SEM and TEM results showed that BiFeO₃ fibers were composed of nanocrystalline particles. The photocatalytic behaviors of BiFeO₃ nanofibers were investigated by the degradation of Rhodamine B (RhB). BiFeO₃ nanofibers exhibited excellent catalytic activity under UV light irradiation, as well as under visible light irradiation in the presence of H₂O ₂. The catalyst was further examined by magnetic measurement. The BiFeO₃ nanofibers exhibited a ferromagnetic behavior at room temperature, which was associated with the nanometer-size of BiFeO₃ particles. This provides an easy and efficient way to recover BiFeO₃ photocatalysts from the suspension system by applying an external magnetic field.