Enhanced magnetic, ferroelectric, and photocatalytic properties of (1-x)BiFeO3-xBaTiO3 (0.0 ≤ x ≤ 0.4) powders

Abstract The magnetic, ferroelectric, and photocatalytic properties of (1-x)BiFeO3-xBaTiO3 (0.0 ≤ x ≤ 0.4) powders synthesized by sol-gel method have been investigated. X-ray diffractometry confirms that the phase of the samples changed from rhombohedral to cubic with the increase in BaTiO3 content. The grain size decreases and the particle shape becomes homogeneous with the introduction of BaTiO3. BaTiO3 substitution enhances the multiferroic properties of the ceramics and the maximum remnant magnetization (0.261 emu/g) and remnant polarization (20 μC/cm2) have acquired in 0.8BiFeO3-0.2BaTiO3 and 0.7BiFeO3-0.3BaTiO3, respectively. The absorbance in ultraviolet and visible light regions is improved obviously for powder with x = 0.3. The energy band gap of the samples decreases from 2.06 eV to 1.57 eV with the introduction of BaTiO3, indicating that the excitation rate of photogenerated electron-hole pairs is improved. The highest methylene blue degradation efficiency of ∼62% within 3 h under the visible light is achieved in the 0.7BiFeO3-0.3BaTiO3 which can be attributed to its suitable energy band gap and large remnant polarization.