A simple, low-cost CVD route to thin films of BiFeO3 for efficient water photo-oxidation

Savio J. A. Moniz; Raul Quesada-Cabrera; Christopher S. Blackman; Junwang Tang; Paul Southern; Paul M. Weaver; Claire J. Carmalt

doi:10.1039/C3TA14824F

A simple, low-cost CVD route to thin films of BiFeO₃ for efficient water photo-oxidation†

Savio J. A. Moniz,^ab Raul Quesada-Cabrera,^a Christopher S. Blackman,*^a Junwang Tang,^b Paul Southern,^c Paul M. Weaver^d and Claire J. Carmalt^a

Author affiliations

* Corresponding authors

^a Materials Chemistry Centre, Department of Chemistry, University College London, 20 Gordon Street, London, WC1H 0AJ, UK
E-mail: c.blackman@ucl.ac.uk

^b Department of Chemical Engineering, University College London, Torrington Place, London, WC1E 7JE, UK

^c UCL Healthcare Biomagnetics Laboratories, 21 Albemarle Street, London, W1S 4BS, UK

^d National Physical Laboratory, Hampton Road, Teddington, Middlesex, TW11 0LW, UK

Abstract

A novel method for preparation of BiFeO₃ films via a simple solution-based CVD method is reported using for the first time a single-source heterobimetallic precursor [CpFe(CO)₂BiCl₂]. BiFeO₃ films display ferroelectric and ferromagnetic ordering at room temperature and possess direct band-gaps between 2.0 and 2.2 eV. Photocatalytic testing for water oxidation revealed high activities under UVA (365 nm) and simulated solar irradiation, superior to that exhibited by a commercial standard (Pilkington Activ® TiO₂ film) resulting in an apparent quantum yield of ∼24%.

This article is part of the themed collection: 2014 Journal of Materials Chemistry A Hot Articles

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Article information

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1039/C3TA14824F
Article type: Communication
Submitted: 21 11 2013
Accepted: 19 12 2013
First published: 20 12 2013
This article is Open Access

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J. Mater. Chem. A, 2014,2, 2922-2927

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A simple, low-cost CVD route to thin films of BiFeO₃ for efficient water photo-oxidation

S. J. A. Moniz, R. Quesada-Cabrera, C. S. Blackman, J. Tang, P. Southern, P. M. Weaver and C. J. Carmalt, J. Mater. Chem. A, 2014, 2, 2922 DOI: 10.1039/C3TA14824F

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Journal of Materials Chemistry A