Superparamagnetic and photocatalytic activity of CoCe0.02Dy0.02Fe1.96O4 nanoparticles synthesized by citrate-gel autocombustion technique

Abstract

Mitigating organic pollutants by employing semiconducting materials is considered to be green and sustainable route to tackle the environmental problems. Herein, citrate-gel autocombustion method was adopted to synthesize Ce and Dy doped CoFe2O4 and characterized by various analytical techniques. The efficacy of prepared CoCexDyxFe2-2xO4 (x=0-0.04) samples were tested for degradation of Methylene blue (MB) under visible light irradiation. The photocatalytic efficiency of CoCe0.02Dy0.02Fe1.96O4 for degradation of MB was found to be larger than pure CoFe2O4, Degussa P25 and other modified CoFe2O4. The enhanced photocatalytic activity was attributed to improved charge separation and visible light utilization by Ce and Dy into CoFe2O4 system. The super-spin glass behaviour of CoCexDyxFe2-2xO4 confirmed from flat nature of magnetization of FC curve below TB.

Optical and functional properties of hydrothermally synthesized tetragonal Ba0.4Cu0.6−xLaxTiO3 (x = 0.2–0.6) nanoparticles

“…It may be acquired as a result of the high interactions existed among the nanosized grains. This kind of behavior was noted in the earlier reports [28][29][30][31]. Furthermore, the average grain size (G) was evaluated with the help of linear intercept method (LIM) [32][33][34].…”