Fabrication and photocatalysis of BiFeO3 with inverse opal structure

The bismuth ferrite (BiFeO3, BFO)with a face-centered cubic inverse opal structure was prepared by the sol-gel method, involving the infiltration of liquid precursors into polystyrene (PS) colloidal crystals and the post-annealing for the remove of PS and the crystallization of BFO. This inverse opals exhibit a continuous 3D photonic crystal structure consisting of single phase BFO. The photocatalytic investigation reveals that the degradation rate of Rhodamine B under UV-vis light irradiation is 1.4 times that of the conventional BFO film without the high periodic porous structure. The high surface area, slow photon and light scattering effects due to the photonic crystal structure are responsible for the enhanced photocatalysis of BFO inverse opal. This work is expected to improve the comprehensive performance of BFO by integrating the photonic effect together with its ferromagnetic and visible-light-driving catalysis properties.