Hybrid calcium magnesium ferrite: A multifaceted nanomaterial for energy, sensing, and environmental applications

Abstract

The current work employs the urea aided conventional sol–gel procedure to synthesize hybrid calcium magnesium ferrite (CMF – CaO/MgFe2O4) nanomaterial. To verify the existence of synthesized nanomaterials, X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and UV diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (UV-DRS) are employed. The observed crystalline size of the nanomaterials is 44.14 nm. The estimated band gap is 2.36 eV, which is validated using UV-DRS equipment. The investigation's findings are supported by actual applications in electrochemical studies and photocatalytic degradation of synthesized hybrid CMF. It was also investigated how to modify the working electrode's surface to detect heavy metals, drugs, and biomolecules like uric acid, paracetamol, creatinine, cadmium and mercury. Electrochemical research was done to determine the ideal properties of CMF as an electrode material for use in batteries, supercapacitors, and sensors applications. Furthermore, synthesized hybrid CMF exhibits excellent photocatalytic activity, employed as a catalyst to decolorize acid red 88(AR-88) dyes at room temperature under visible light illumination, with a 120-minute photocatalytic activity with the degradation efficiencyof 60.40 %.