Being a visible-light responsive semiconductor, BiFeO3 (BFO) is considered as a potential material for photocatalysis. To enhance the photocatalytic efficiency, in this work, BiFeO3 was dispersed with various amount of Ag. Morphologies and phases of the as-synthesized samples were evaluated by using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD), respectively. UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) was used to analyse the absorption properties. The photocatalytic activities of the products were evaluated via the photocatalytic degradation of aqueous rhodamine-B (RhB) solution under simulated solar-light irradiation. The results indicated the important role of Ag nanoparticles on improving catalytic efficiency of BiFeO3. The enhancement in the photocatalytic activity is explained on the basis of surface plasmon resonance effect of the dispersed Ag nanoparticles over the surface of BiFeO3.

Keywords: BiFeO3, Ag nanoparticle, Photocatalyst, Rhodamine B, Surface plasmon resonance.