Regulation of the microstructural and optical properties of bismuth ferrite nanowires by mineralizer concentration

Bismuth ferrite (BiFeO3, or BFO) is a kind of multiferroic material with a single phase. One-dimensional nanomaterials have unique electrical, magnetic, and optical properties due to anisotropy and unique size effects. Bismuth ferrite nanowires were prepared by hydrothermal method processing at different mineralizer concentrations. X-ray diffraction results show that the increase of mineralizer concentration can inhibit the reaction to generate impurities. It can be observed from scanning electron microscopy that along with increasing of mineralizer concentration, the length of the nanowires increase. Transmission electron microscopy and UV–visible spectrophotometry results reveal that the appropriate increase of nanowires length is beneficial to enhancing the absorption of light.