Visible-light Driven YFeO3 Photocatalysts Prepared by a Sol-Gel Process

Using Fe(NO3)(3)center dot 9H(2)O, Y(NO3)(3)center dot 6H(2)O and polyvinyl alcohol as stating materials, the YFeO3 was prepared by a sol-gel process. The prepared YFeO3 products were characterized by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS). Results show that the single phase perovskite YFeO3 can be obtained through the calcination of the dried gel powders at 600 degrees C for 2 h. The prepared YFeO3 shows an average grain size of about 100 nm in diameter. The DRS shows the optical absorption onset of 502 mu, indicating the optical band gap of 2.47 eV. The photocatalytic experiment shows that the prepared YFeO3 has good visible-light photocatalytic activity for the decomposition of Rhodamine B with the commercial Degussa P25.