A novel synthesis of forest like BiFeO3 thin film: Photo-electrochemical studies and its application as a photocatalyst for phenol degradation

Forest-like BiFeO3 film formed through electrophoretic deposition of a prepared sol over stainless steel mesh, for the first time. The resultant film characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) combined with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and magnetic force microscopy (MFM). The photo-electrochemical studies show that the current and open circuit potential moved to positive values under visible light. This explained by the fact that BiFeO3 film generates photo-induced electrons and produce photocurrent and photovoltage. Finally, as prepared thin film used for photocatalytic degradation of phenol in a photocatalytic reactor. The morphology has a significant role on the photocatalytic efficiency due to enhance light-harvesting feature and provide multi scattering centers. Forest-like film was included nano-branches with diameter of 100–150 nm that offer pathways to facilitate electron transfer to substrate. In photocatalytic studies, the effect of important parameters such as initial phenol concentration, addition of H2O2, and rotating speed investigated on the photocatalytic efficiency.