Construction of pyroelectrically-driven BiFeO3@CuBi2O4 nanofiber composite catalyst for enhanced pyrocatalytic activities under room-temperature cold and hot cycles

Abstract

In this present work, a significant enhancement of pyroelectrically-driven catalytic activity is found in BiFeO3@CuBi2O4(BFO@CBO) heterostructures synthesized by electrospinning and then calcining. BFO can decompose up to 74.1% RhB dye in aqueous solution (5 mg/L) at cold and hot cycles of 15 °C to 45 °C. With the increase of CBO composite content from 0wt% to 10wt% in BFO nanofibers, the RhB decomposition rate of BFO@CBO heterostructure increased first and then decreased, reaching the maximum of 95% at 5wt%. The BFO@5%CBO composite with the best pyroelectrically catalytic activity had the highest bactericidal rate, and its bactericidal effect on Salmonella and Staphylococcus aureus was 96.2% and 96.8%, respectively. The increased catalytic activity of BFO@CBO may be due to the formation of heterojunctions, in which the electric field effectively separates the pyrolytic induced electron-hole under cold and hot cycles conditions. The BFO@CBO pyroelectric catalyst may have the potential to decompose dye wastewater and sterilize bacteria by collecting alternating heat energy.