A review on recent progressions of Bismuth ferrite modified morphologies as an effective photocatalyst to curb water and air pollution

Abstract

• The most recent advancement on BFO based Nanoparticles are summarized. • Present-day implementations of Bismuth Ferrite Nanoparticles in environmental remediations are discussed. • Structural properties and effect of doping is described in detail. • Future opportunities and research gaps are outlined. Fuel crisis and atmospheric pollution have been major environmental issues from the advent of the nuclear era of 1945. Photocatalysis for water splitting and organic contaminant degradation in presence of sunlight is a promising and recently in-trend for solving current environmental problems. Photocatalytic oxidation offers distinct advantages such as its extensive applicability of total mineralization of organic compounds without any secondary pollution. Bismuth Ferrite (BiFeO 3 ) and its doped materials have gained a lot of attention nowadays due to its very narrow band gap (≈2.1 eV), recycling nature, coexistence of magnetic and ferroelectric properties and distinctive crystal structure. Due to these elaborated properties, Bismuth Ferrite emerges as an interesting material as a photocatalyst. The focus of this article is to summarize BFO photocatalytic properties and how can it be used to remediate air pollutants and water pollutants multiple times. This review also broadly discusses about BiFeO 3 as a visible light photocatalyst and its present shape of work, research gaps and future scope.