Synthesis of Bi2Fe4O9 Crystalline Ceramic as Extremely Capable Photocatalyst via Proficient Chemical Route

Abstract

Bi2Fe4O9 crystalline ceramic was successfully synthesized through a soft chemical route at lower sintering temperature for analysis of photocatalytic behavior with respect to adsorption of Congo Red (CR) in the presence of UV-VIS irradiation. The single-phase formation of Bi2Fe4O9 ceramic was confirmed by powder X-ray diffraction studies and particle size observed by TEM analysis was found to be 148 ± 5 nm which reveals the crystalline nature of the materials. Additionally, the photocatalytic activity of Bi2Fe4O9 ceramic was evaluated by the degradation of Congo Red in presence of visible light. The optical band gap (Eg) of the synthesized materials was found to be 1.8 eV. It exhibited greater photocatalytic activity than other synthesized materials like BiFeO3 as well as TiO2 due to a smaller band gap (1.8 eV). Furthermore, process variables such as pH.