Effect of Annealing on the Physical Properties of LaFeO₃ Perovskite Nanomaterial Prepared by Co-Precipitation Method for H₂ Generation

Abstract

Nanocrystalline LaFeO3 (LFO) perovskite material was synthesized by a co-precipitation method using water bath technique. The properties of LFO perovskite nanoparticles has been thoroughly investigated for as deposited and annealed samples. The sample prepared was annealed at 800°C in the environmental air. X-ray diffractometer (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), and UV-visible spectroscopy were used to study structural, morphological, compositional and optical features. The X-ray diffraction study confirmed the formation of an orthorhombic LFO nanostructure. FESEM images showed the formation of a random distribution of nanoparticles with high porosity. EDS results showed the stoichiometric amount of La, Fe and O. Using UV-visible spectra, the energy band gap of the samples was discovered to be 2.1 eV and 2.34 eV for the as-deposited and annealed sample, respectively. This finding suggests that the LFO nanostructures created by this method can function as a photocatalytic material.