From Bi2Al4O9 to Bi2Fe4O9: Does the band-gap tuning work for visible light photocatalysis?

CURTI M.; GRANONE L. I.; GESING TH. M.; MURSHED M.M.; BREDOW T.; MENDIVE C.

Bremen

Workshop; International Center for Computational Materials Science-Workshop Functional Oxides for Emerging Technologies; 2013

International Center for Computational Materials Science, Universitaet Bremen

Mullite-type O9-compounds with general formula Bi2M4O9 (M = Al, Fe) have become attractive materials in the last years because of their potential use in a range of applications, including photocatalysis [1].Theoretical predictions upon the exchange of Al by Fe in Bi2Al4O9 show that a band-gap tuning can be achieved for a wide spectral window, spanning from high wavelengths into the visible region of the light spectrum.And since it has been demonstrated that Bi2Fe4O9 has photocatalytic properties under visible light irradiation [1], a Bi2(Al1-xFex)4O9 series, with x = 0.0, 0.3, 0.6 and 0.9 [2], have been studied and tested with respect to their photocatalytic activity.Surprisingly, Bi2Al4O9 appears to be the most photocatalytically active under 455 nm illumination, while the Fe doped compounds only show a rather low photocatalytic activity.[1] Ruan Q., Zhang W. J. Phys. Chem. C 113 (2009) 4168[2] Gesing Th.M., Fischer R., Burianek M., Mühlberg M., Debnath T., Rüscher C., Ottinger J., Buhl J., Schneider H. J. Eur. Ceram. Soc .31 (2011) 3055