Optical and Photocatalytic Properties of Solar Light Active Nd-Substituted Ni Ferrite Catalysts: For Environmental Protection

Abstract

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.