Optical and Photocatalytic Properties of Solar Light Active Nd-Substituted Ni Ferrite Catalysts: For Environmental Protection
2013
Harish, K. N. | Bhojya Naik, H. S. | Prashanth kumar, P. N. | Viswanath, R.
In the present investigation, we have reported the fabrication of a low-cost, magnetically separable, solar light active NiFe₂–ₓNdₓO₄ photocatalyst with different neodymium contents. The synthesized photocatalyst samples were characterized by a combination of various physicochemical techniques such as PXRD, SEM, EDS, FTIR, and UV–vis spectroscopy. It was observed that Nd substitution can greatly enhance absorption in the whole visible region. With an increase in Nd concentration, NiFe₂–ₓNdₓO₄ samples show a red shift in absorption. Interestingly, Nd substitution into nickel ferrite results in a dramatic conversion of the inert NiFe₂O₄ into a highly solar light active photocatalyst for the degradation of organic pollutants and also shows excellent recyclability and durability properties. The significant enhancement in photoactivity under solar light irradiation can be ascribed to the reduction of the nickel ferrite band gap by Nd³⁺ substitution. Therefore, these unusual properties of NiFe₂–ₓNdₓO₄ encourage us to extend photocatalytic degradation to another few organic pollutants. This new photocatalyst system, NiFe₂–ₓNdₓO₄, can have other potential environmental and energy applications that only need visible light as energy input.
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