Enhanced photocatalytic and magnetic recovery performance of Co-doped BiFeO3 based on MOFs precursor

Herein, in order to improve the photocatalytic performance and magnetic recovery of BiFeO3, we prepared BiFeO3 nanoparticles doped with different molar concentrations of Co by thermal decomposition of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) precursor. The samples were characterized by XRD, TG, FESEM, XPS, UV-Vis and PL. The result of XRD and XPS revealed that Co ions have been successfully incorporated into BiFeO3 lattice. UV-Vis results revealed that Co doping leads to a decrease in BiFeO3 band gap. PL spectra showed that oxygen vacancies seriously affect the photocatalytic reaction. The influences of Co doping content on photocatalytic activity of BiFeO3 were investigated. The results showed that the BiFeO3 doped with x = 0.005 Co show the best photo-catalytic activity with the maximum degradation rate of MO is 89.8% in 120 min in neutral solution. It also exhibits excellent magnetic recovery and good cyclic stability.