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-he(2)O(3)-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 similar to 800 to 105 degrees 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.