Polyacrylamide gel synthesis and photocatalytic performance of Bi2Fe4O9 nanoparticles

In this report, a polyacrylamide gel route is introduced to synthesize Bi2Fe4O9 nanoparticles. It is demonstrated that high-phase-purity Bi2Fe4O9 nanoparticles can be prepared using different chelating agents. Interestingly, however, the particle size of the products is found to be dependent on the choice of chelating agent. The use of EDTA as the chelating agent allows the production of Bi2Fe4O9 nanopowder with a relatively smaller particle size. The photocatalytic experiments reveal that the as-prepared Bi2Fe4O9 nanoparticles possess excellent photocatalytic activity for oxidative decomposition of methyl red under ultraviolet and visible light irradiation. Magnetic hysteresis loop measurement shows that the Bi2Fe4O9 nanoparticles exhibit a weak ferromagnetic behavior at room temperature. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.