Truncated hexagonal bi-pyramidal gallium ferrite nanocrystals: integration of structural details with visible-light photo-activity and self-cleaning properties

Abstract

THBP-GFO nanocrystals with novel structural symmetry demonstrate impressive self-cleaning property.

Spontaneous formation of sub-4 nm nanocrystalline alloy via polymorphic phase transformation

“…Nanograined or nanocrystalline alloys exhibit fascinating mechanical [1], chemical [2], optical [3], electrical [4] and magnetic [5] properties compared to conventional polycrystalline alloys. Binary alloy nanocrystals in particular have attracted worldwide attention because of the synergistic effects between two metal species and their unique roles in applications like catalyst [6], drug delivery [7], bio-imaging [8], smart electrical devices [8], and so forth.…”

Phase engineered gallium ferrite: a promising narrow bandgap, room-temperature ferroelectric

“…The critical balance between the two, determines the crystal symmetry, size and shape of the synthesized nanocrystalline phase. In the present work, we observe that GFO nanocrystals are formed with two different crystal symmetries, viz., P2 1 2 1 2 1 and R3c and geometries, i.e., truncated hexagonal bipyramid (THBP) and cubic geometries under protocol (i) (without annealing) 23 and (ii), respectively, described in section 2. In either of the two processes, no capping agent was used and the synthesized nanoparticles are of fairly uniform size.…”

“…In a recent work, the present authors synthesized GFO nanocrystals with unique truncated hexagonal bi-pyramid (THBP) geometry using a hydrothermal technique. 23 Subsequent structural and functional characterization demonstrated an orthorhombic P2 1 2 1 2 1 symmetry with a moderately small bandgap and exciting photocatalytic activity. 23 In the present work, we stabilize GFO nanocrystals with rhombohedral R3c symmetry at room-temperature.…”

“…23 Subsequent structural and functional characterization demonstrated an orthorhombic P2 1 2 1 2 1 symmetry with a moderately small bandgap and exciting photocatalytic activity. 23 In the present work, we stabilize GFO nanocrystals with rhombohedral R3c symmetry at room-temperature. Electrical, magnetic and optical characterization together with firstprinciples studies establish the material as a room-temperature ferroelectric with a reduced coercive field and narrow optical band gap (B2.1 eV).…”

Plasmonic-Enhanced Near-Infrared Photocatalytic Activity of F-Doped (NH4)0.33WO3 Nanorods

“…As a green power, solar energy has been widely used to solve environmental and energy problems . Among all kinds of solar-power applications, photocatalytic technologies for environmental remediation have attracted extensive attention. − TiO 2 , as the most promising semiconductor photocatalyst, is widely studied in photodegration of organic pollutants. − However, the photoactivity of TiO 2 is limited in the ultraviolet (UV) light (<420 nm) range . Thus, several studies have been focused on widening the photoabsorption to the visible region, which accounts for 42% of the solar energy. , Besides doped TiO 2 , a lot of novel photocatalysts such as Ag 3 PO 4 , BiVO 4 , , C 3 N 4 , − CdS, , SrTiO 3 , , BiOX (X = Cl, Br, I), etc., − were investigated.…”