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theses

Bismuth ferrite (BFO) is a room-temperature multiferroic material which exhibits an above-bandgap photovoltaic response as well as photocatalytic properties. This interesting coupling of effects means that BFO may have many useful applications in fields ranging from solar energy generation to multifunctional electronic devices. Herein, bismuth ferrite nanoparticles are fabricated using pulsed laser ablation in liquid (PLAL), a quick, simple, green technique of nanostructure generation in which a bulk solid target is irradiated with incident pulsed laser light in a liquid. The extreme temperatures and pressures generated in the resulting plasma can result in novel nanostructures and even metastable phases of nanomaterials not otherwise able to be created. Raman spectroscopy indicates the fabrication of a metastable phase of tetragonal-like BFO nanoparticles by pulsed laser ablation in liquid. These nanoparticles are also shown to be very small and monodisperse. Bulk solid solutions of BFO were prepared by conventional solid state sintering. Raman spectra of the bulk BFO samples were in agreement with published spectra for rhombohedrally distorted phase BFO with R3c symmetry. The bulk BFO was then ablated via PLAL, varying parameters of laser wavelength, energy, and liquid composition. PLAL yielded colloidal solutions of nanoparticles which were then characterized. Furthermore post laser irradiation (PLI) was carried out upon the nanoparticle solutions resulting in smaller and more monodisperse nanoparticles.

ETD_9006

M.S.

Includes bibliographical references

by Tyler Christian Butler

doi:10.7282/T30G3PH2

ETD graduate

The author owns the copyright to this work.