Synthesis, characterization, optical and photocatalytic activity of yttrium and copper co-doped zinc ferrite under visible light.

Ajithkumar, P.; Mohana, S.; Sumathi, S.

In this study, yttrium doped zinc ferrite (ZnFe2−xYxO4x = 0.01–0.1) and yttrium and copper co-doped zinc ferrite (CuyZn1−yFe2−xYxO4x = 0.1 and y = 0.5) were synthesized by solution combustion method. The synthesized nanoparticles were authenticated by various techniques such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy–energy dispersive X-ray analysis (SEM-EDAX) and UV–visible spectroscopy. The photocatalytic activity of synthesized nanoparticles was studied by performing the degradation of methylene blue (MB) under visible light. 95% of MB was degraded in 180 min using yttrium-doped zinc ferrite. 89% of MB was degraded in 30 min using copper and yttrium co-doped zinc ferrite under visible light using 10 mg of the catalyst and 50 µl of hydrogen peroxide. Photocatalytic degradation of colorless pollutant bisphenol A also carried out using the doped zinc ferrite.

COPPER ferrite; ZINC ferrites; OPTICAL rotation; VISIBLE spectra; YTTRIUM; FOURIER transform infrared spectroscopy

Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Electronics, 2020, Vol 31, Issue 2, p1168

0957-4522

Academic Journal

10.1007/s10854-019-02628-8