Influence of rare earth (Gd) and transition (Cu) doping in bismuth ferrite for photocatalytic activity and stability performance

Abstract

Abstract Bismuth ferrite (BFO) and Bi1-xGdxFe1-yCuyO3 (x and y = 0.05, 0.1, 0.15, 0.2 wt.%) samples were synthesized by sol–gel method. The crystal structure, surface morphology, and magnetic properties are investigated by X-ray diffraction(XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), energy disperse X-ray analysis (EDAX), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), vibration sample measurement (VSM). The synthesized samples were used for the photocatalytic activity of Rhodamine B (RhB) dye under visible light irradiation and stability performance was examined by four cycles by the photodegradation test.