Influence of Bi substitution on structural and optical properties of LaFeO\(_{3}\) perovskite

Mohammed Sadok MAHBOUB; Ouarda BEN ALI; Soria ZEROUAL; Ghani RIHIA; Mourad MIMOUNI; Imad HAMADNEH; Samir BAYOU; Hani BOULAHBEL; Adel BENARFA; Ferhat REHOUMA

doi:10.55713/jmmm.v34i4.1837

Authors

Mohammed Sadok MAHBOUB LEVRES Laboratory, University of El Oued, 39000 El Oued, Algeria https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5495-5249
Ouarda BEN ALI LEVRES Laboratory, University of El Oued, 39000 El Oued, Algeria
Soria ZEROUAL LEVRES Laboratory, University of El Oued, 39000 El Oued, Algeria https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5922-9980
Ghani RIHIA LEVRES Laboratory, University of El Oued, 39000 El Oued, Algeria https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5264-9480
Mourad MIMOUNI LEVRES Laboratory, University of El Oued, 39000 El Oued, Algeria https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4402-5918
Imad HAMADNEH Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Jordan, Amman 11942, Jordan https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4446-112X
Samir BAYOU Chemistry department, Faculty of Exact Sciences, University of El Oued, 39000 El Oued, Algeria https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8553-3428
Hani BOULAHBEL Centre de Recherche Scientifique et Technique en Analyses Physico-Chimiques BP 384, Siège ex-Pasna Zone Industrielle Bou-Ismail, CP 42004 Tipaza, Algeria
Adel BENARFA Centre de Recherche Scientifique Et Technique en Analyses Physico-Chimiques (CRAPC)-PTAPC, P.O. Box 0354, Laghouat 03000, Algeria https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0377-0161
Ferhat REHOUMA LEVRES Laboratory, University of El Oued, 39000 El Oued, Algeria https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8904-3941

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.55713/jmmm.v34i4.1837

Keywords:

Band gap energy, Nanoparticle, photocatalytic, Sol-gel, Solar cell

Abstract

The sol-gel self-ignition method has successfully synthesized a series of homogenous perovskites La_1-xBi_xFeO₃ (x=0.0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, and 0.8) nanoparticles. Rietveld refinement results from XRD patterns revealed no secondary phases in pure and Bi-substituted LaFeO₃ samples. The structural transition from orthorhombic at x = 0.0 until x=0.6 (space group Pbnm) to rhombohedral at x=0.8 (space group R3c) was observed. Lattice parameter values increase slightly with Bi concentration due to the substitution of Bi in the LaFeO₃ structure. The average crystallite size D was found to vary between 19 nm and 50 nm. The combination of XRD and SEM demonstrated that the prepared Bi-doped LaFeO₃ is a single-phase perovskite with a relatively homogeneous particle size distribution. SEM images revealed quasi-spherical particle shapes. FTIR spectra identify the metal oxide bending vibrations at about 536 cm^‒1 and 717 cm^‒1 attributed to Fe-O and La-O bonds, respectively. No significant effect of Bi substitution from 0% up to 60% on crystal volume was observed, as confirmed by FTIR spectroscopy, which showed no shift in La/Fe-O bending vibration modes with increasing Bi content. The obtained results indicated that the Eg values exhibited a monotone decrease with an increase in Bi ratio. The band gap values varied from 2.2 eV for pure LaFeO₃to 1.85, 1.76, 1.54 and 1.35 eV for the substitutions of 20%, 40%, 60% and 80% respectively. Hence, the sample La_0.2Bi_0.8FeO₃ with the small band gap value can be used as a promising candidate in solar cell applications.

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