Facile combustion synthesis, structural, morphological, optical and antibacterial studies of Bi1−xAlxFeO3 (0.0 ≤ x ≤ 0.15) nanoparticles

In this study, undoped and Al-doped BiFeO3 (Bi1−xAlxFeO3: x = 0.0, 0.05, 0.1 and 0.15) nanoparticles were successfully prepared by solution combustion method using urea as the fuel. The obtained product was sintered at 550 °C for 2 h to obtain pure phase. The as-prepared samples were characterized by powder XRD, FT-IR, FE-SEM, EDX, TEM, UV-Vis absorption and PL spectroscopic analysis. Powder XRD study revealed that the synthesized nano-powders exhibit rhombohedral structure. The average crystallite size of the samples decreased from 56.25 to 48.55 nm with “x”. Surface morphology of the samples were analyzed by FE-SEM and TEM micrograph technique and the grain distribution was not quite homogeneous and observed agglomeration, which is mainly due to the magnetic interaction among the particles. EDX analysis showed that the presence of Bi, Fe, O and Al peaks only without any form of impurity peak in all products. PL spectroscopy showed a high intense peak at 464 nm, which was attributed to blue emission. Antibacterial activity of Bi1−xAlxFeO3 nanoparticles was found to be enhanced with increase in Al doping concentration as it caused a reduction in the grain size of the samples.