Preparation of Multiferroic YFeO₃ Nanofibers and the Photocatalytic Activity under Visible Irradiation

Abstract

Multiferroic YFeO₃ nanofibers were prepared by electrospinning. The as-prepared nanofibers were characterized by XRD, TG-DTA, SEM and Raman spectrum. The magnetic property and photocatalytic activity of the orthorhombic YFeO₃ nanofibers were also investigated. The results show that the crystal structure and morphology of the YFeO₃ nanofibers were influenced by the calcination temperature. Pure orthorhomic YFeO₃ nanofibers can be obtained when the temperature increased to 860 °C and they exhibit ferromagnetism with slight antiferromagnetism at room temperature. The degradation test of RhB and MB under simulated sunlight show that the YFeO₃ nanofibers possess higher photocatalytic activity, compared with the YFeO₃ nanoparticles.

Keywords:

• Yttrium orthoferrite
• Nanofibers
• Electrospinning
• Photocatalysis

Additional information

Funding

This work is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51373134), Natural Science Basic Research Program of Shaanxi (No. 2017JQ5083) and PhD Research Startup Foundation of Xi’an University of Science and Technology (2017QDJ044).