Formation of layered Bi5Ti3FeO15 perovskite in Bi2O3-TiO2-Fe2O3 containing system

Abstract

Structural and thermo-analytical studies were carried out to understand the phase formation kinetics of the single phase Bi5Ti3FeO15 (BTFO) nanocrystals in Bi2O3-Fe2O3-TiO2, during the polymerized complex (PC) synthesis method. The crystallization of Aurivillius phase Bi5Ti3FeO15 layered perovskite was found to be initiated and achieved under the temperature conditions in the range of ~800 to 1050 °C. The activation energy for grain growth of Bi5Ti3FeO15 nanocrystals (NCs) was very low in case of NCs formed by PC (2.61 kJ/mol) than that formed by the solid state reaction (SSR) method (10.9 kJ/mol). The energy involved in the phase transformation of Aurivillius phase Bi5Ti3FeO15 from Bi2O3-Fe2O3-TiO2 system was ~ 69.8 kJ/mol. The formation kinetics study of Bi5Ti3FeO15 synthesized by SSR and PC methods would not only render a large impact in the nanocrystalline material development but also in achieving highly efficient visible photocatalysts.