Facile hydrothermal synthesis and characterization of LaFeO₃ nanospheres for visible light photocatalytic applications

LaFeO₃ nanospheres were synthesized by hydrothermal method followed by calcination. Citric acid was found to be key factor to the purity and the surface morphology of the LaFeO₃ nanospheres. The obtained nanospheres have been structurally characterized by XRD which confirms the single crystalline orthorhombic structure. The structural information of the nanosphere was also confirmed from the Raman spectrum. HRSEM and AFM revealed that the prepared sample has been composed of spherical like morphology with an average size of about 45 nm. From XPS analysis, the chemical state of the LaFeO₃ nanospheres was confirmed. Magnetic measurement indicates the products shows weak magnetic behaviour. The UV–Vis spectroscopy analysis shows strong absorption at 466 nm which confirms that the obtained material has excellent visible light absorption ability. Furthermore, the photocatalytic experiment demonstrates that the prepared LaFeO₃ nanospheres exhibit well and stable photocatalytic activity for decomposition of methyl orange under visible-light irradiation.