Comprehensive study on structural, electrical, magnetic and photocatalytic degradation properties of Al3+ ions substituted nickel ferrites nanoparticles

Abstract

A series of Al3+ substituted NiAlxFe2-xO4 (0.0 = x ≤ 0.5) nanoparticles was synthesized using the chemical co-precipitation route. The effect of Al3+ ions doping was investigated in terms of structural, degradation, magnetic and electrical properties of the nanoparticles (NPs). The XRD patterns confirmed the formation of the spinel cubic phase. FT-IR spectra revealedtwo consistent absorption bands indicating the intrinsic stretching vibrations of O2- Fe3+ around 591-615 cm−1 and 416-428 cm−1 bond lengths for tetrahedral and octahedral sites respectively. The magnetic properties decrease as the concentration of Al3+ increases. The decrease of magnetic parameters can be explained by the difference between magnetic moments of Al3+ and Fe3+ cations. Maxwell-Wagner model of space charge polarization was utilized to explain the dielectric properties with frequency. The increasing dielectric losses indicated the suitability of synthesized NPs for microwave absorption, telecommunication, electronics and other high frequency applications. The dependence of dielectric properties on grains and grain boundaries was further investigated via impedance spectroscopy and complex electric modulus. The study of photo-degradation efficiency of NPs was performed using organic methylene blue dye. The results showed satisfactory degradation with maximum degradation efficiency of 84.45% for NPs with composition NiAl0·5Fe1·5O4.