Synthesis of Phase Pure Hexagonal YFeO3 Perovskite as Efficient Visible Light Active Photocatalyst
Hexagonal perovskite YFeO3 was synthesized by a complex-assisted sol-gel technique allowing crystallization at calcination temperatures below 700 °C. As determined by diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) and Tauc plots, the hexagonal YFeO3 exhibits a lower optical band gap (1.81 eV) than the ortho...
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doaj-c45a725b5b1a4deb91fb5f6f57fd59fc2020-11-24T21:46:26ZengMDPI AGCatalysts2073-43442017-11-0171132610.3390/catal7110326catal7110326Synthesis of Phase Pure Hexagonal YFeO3 Perovskite as Efficient Visible Light Active PhotocatalystMohammed Ismael0Engy Elhaddad1Dereje H. Taffa2Michael Wark3Institute of Chemistry, Chemical Technology 1, Carl von Ossietzky University Oldenburg, Carl-von-Ossietzky-Str. 9-11, 26129 Oldenburg, GermanyInstitute of Chemistry, Chemical Technology 1, Carl von Ossietzky University Oldenburg, Carl-von-Ossietzky-Str. 9-11, 26129 Oldenburg, GermanyInstitute of Chemistry, Chemical Technology 1, Carl von Ossietzky University Oldenburg, Carl-von-Ossietzky-Str. 9-11, 26129 Oldenburg, GermanyInstitute of Chemistry, Chemical Technology 1, Carl von Ossietzky University Oldenburg, Carl-von-Ossietzky-Str. 9-11, 26129 Oldenburg, GermanyHexagonal perovskite YFeO3 was synthesized by a complex-assisted sol-gel technique allowing crystallization at calcination temperatures below 700 °C. As determined by diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) and Tauc plots, the hexagonal YFeO3 exhibits a lower optical band gap (1.81 eV) than the orthorhombic structure (about 2.1 eV or even higher) being typically obtained at elevated temperatures (>700 °C), and thus enables higher visible light photocatalysis activity. Structure and morphology of the synthesized YFeO3 perovskites were analyzed by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) and nitrogen adsorption, proving that significantly smaller crystallite sizes and higher surface areas are obtained for YFeO3 with a hexagonal phase. The photocatalytic activity of the different YFeO3 phases was deduced via the degradation of the model pollutants methyl orange and 4-chlorophenol. Experiments under illumination with light of different wavelengths, in the presence of different trapping elements, as well as photoelectrochemical tests allow conclusions regarding band positions of YFeO3 and the photocatalytic degradation mechanism. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy indicates that a very thin layer of Y2O3 might support the photocatalysis by improving the separation of photogenerated charge carriers.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4344/7/11/326vis-light photocatalysthexagonal YFeO3methyl orange degradationMott-Schottky plotX-ray photoelectron spectroscopy |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Mohammed Ismael Engy Elhaddad Dereje H. Taffa Michael Wark |
spellingShingle |
Mohammed Ismael Engy Elhaddad Dereje H. Taffa Michael Wark Synthesis of Phase Pure Hexagonal YFeO3 Perovskite as Efficient Visible Light Active Photocatalyst Catalysts vis-light photocatalyst hexagonal YFeO3 methyl orange degradation Mott-Schottky plot X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy |
author_facet |
Mohammed Ismael Engy Elhaddad Dereje H. Taffa Michael Wark |
author_sort |
Mohammed Ismael |
title |
Synthesis of Phase Pure Hexagonal YFeO3 Perovskite as Efficient Visible Light Active Photocatalyst |
title_short |
Synthesis of Phase Pure Hexagonal YFeO3 Perovskite as Efficient Visible Light Active Photocatalyst |
title_full |
Synthesis of Phase Pure Hexagonal YFeO3 Perovskite as Efficient Visible Light Active Photocatalyst |
title_fullStr |
Synthesis of Phase Pure Hexagonal YFeO3 Perovskite as Efficient Visible Light Active Photocatalyst |
title_full_unstemmed |
Synthesis of Phase Pure Hexagonal YFeO3 Perovskite as Efficient Visible Light Active Photocatalyst |
title_sort |
synthesis of phase pure hexagonal yfeo3 perovskite as efficient visible light active photocatalyst |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
series |
Catalysts |
issn |
2073-4344 |
publishDate |
2017-11-01 |
description |
Hexagonal perovskite YFeO3 was synthesized by a complex-assisted sol-gel technique allowing crystallization at calcination temperatures below 700 °C. As determined by diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) and Tauc plots, the hexagonal YFeO3 exhibits a lower optical band gap (1.81 eV) than the orthorhombic structure (about 2.1 eV or even higher) being typically obtained at elevated temperatures (>700 °C), and thus enables higher visible light photocatalysis activity. Structure and morphology of the synthesized YFeO3 perovskites were analyzed by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) and nitrogen adsorption, proving that significantly smaller crystallite sizes and higher surface areas are obtained for YFeO3 with a hexagonal phase. The photocatalytic activity of the different YFeO3 phases was deduced via the degradation of the model pollutants methyl orange and 4-chlorophenol. Experiments under illumination with light of different wavelengths, in the presence of different trapping elements, as well as photoelectrochemical tests allow conclusions regarding band positions of YFeO3 and the photocatalytic degradation mechanism. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy indicates that a very thin layer of Y2O3 might support the photocatalysis by improving the separation of photogenerated charge carriers. |
topic |
vis-light photocatalyst hexagonal YFeO3 methyl orange degradation Mott-Schottky plot X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy |
url |
https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4344/7/11/326 |
work_keys_str_mv |
AT mohammedismael synthesisofphasepurehexagonalyfeo3perovskiteasefficientvisiblelightactivephotocatalyst AT engyelhaddad synthesisofphasepurehexagonalyfeo3perovskiteasefficientvisiblelightactivephotocatalyst AT derejehtaffa synthesisofphasepurehexagonalyfeo3perovskiteasefficientvisiblelightactivephotocatalyst AT michaelwark synthesisofphasepurehexagonalyfeo3perovskiteasefficientvisiblelightactivephotocatalyst |
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1725902181711740928 |