Study of Green and Chemical Methods for Synthesis of Nano Spinel MgFe2O4 and its Study on Degradation of Rose Bengal Dye

Abstract

MgFe2O4 nanoferrites were synthesized by sol-gel and solution combustion synthesis (SCS) methods through green and chemical methods. Green and chemical methods for sol-gel were processed with use of lemon extract and citric acid, respectively. A green and chemical method for solution combustion synthesis was followed by using Phyllanthus acidus leaf extract and urea, respectively. The influence of synthesis approach on the behaviour of prepared nanoferrites were studied using powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and UV visible spectroscopy, vast variation in particle size, crystallinity, electrochemical and photocatalytic activity of the nanoferrites synthesized by various methods were witnessed. Powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) result of prepared nanoferrites acquired by green and chemical approaches clarified phase structure as spinel and the crystalline size found to be around 11-24 nm. The spinel surface morphology was witnessed for the synthesized nanoferrites. The tetrahedral and octahedral sites of the prepared nanoferrites were confirmed by FTIR spectra. MgFe2O4 nanoferrites synthesized by green sol-gel approach exposed superior electrochemical activity by possessing very less charge transfer resistance. The results of EIS were correlated with the photocatalytic degradation of Rose Bengal dye. Photocatalytic property of the prepared nanoferrites was examined for photodegradation of Rose Bengal dye under UV-light.