Non-aqueous Sol-gel Method Research Articles

Calcium-, magnesium-, and yttrium-doped lithium nickel phosphate nanomaterials as high-performance catalysts for electrochemical water oxidation reaction

Abstract Electrochemical water oxidation reaction (WOR) lies among the most forthcoming approaches toward eco-conscious manufacturing of green hydrogen owing to its environmental favors and high energy density values. Its vast commoditization is restricted by high-efficiency and inexpensive catalysts that are extensively under constant research. Herein, calcium, magnesium, and yttrium doped lithium nickel phosphate olivines (LiNi1−x M x PO, LNMP; x = 0.1–0.9; M = Ca2+, Mg2+, and Y3+) were synthesized via non-aqueous sol-gel method and explored for catalytic WOR. Lithium nickel phosphates (LNP) and compositions were characterized via Fourier transform infrared, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and energy dispersive X-ray diffraction techniques for the structural and morphological analyses. Glassy carbon electrode altered with the LNMPs when studied in a standard redox system of 5 mM KMnO4, displayed that yttrium doped LNP, i.e. LNYP-3 exhibits the highest active surface area (0.0050 cm2) displaying the lowest average crystallite size (D avg) i.e. ∼7 nm. Electrocatalytic behavior monitored in KOH showed that LNMP-2 offers the highest rate constant “k o,” value, i.e. 3.9 10−2 cm s−1 and the largest diffusion coefficient “D o,” i.e. 5.2 × 10−5 cm2 s−1. Kinetic and thermodynamic parameters demonstrated the facilitated electron transfer and electrocatalytic properties of proposed nanomaterials. Water oxidation peak current density values were indicative of the robust catalysis and facilitated water oxidation process besides lowering the Faradic onset potential signifying the transformation of less LNP into more conducive LNMP toward water oxidation.

Cost-effective efficient materials for dye degradation using non-aqueous sol-gel route.

In the present studies, the synthesis of pure ZnO nanoparticles and Mg and S-doped ZnO particles were carried out using a non-aqueous sol-gel method. The synthesized nanoparticles (NPs) are characterized using XRD, FESEM, EDX, FTIR, UV-Vis-DRS, XPS, PL, and BET surface area analysis. X-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques were used to examine the crystallization of ZnO, Mg-ZnO, and S-ZnO samples. The Mg-ZnO and S-ZnO samples exhibit significant c-axis compression and smaller crystallite sizes as compared to undoped ZnO. The optical band gap of Mg-ZnO and S-ZnO NPs were found to be 2.93eV and 2.32eV, respectively, which are lower than that of ZnO NPs (3.05eV). The S-doped ZnO resulted in the homogenous distribution of sulfur ions in the ZnO lattice crystal. XPS analysis revealed that the doped S element was mostly S4+ and S6+. A systematic evaluation has been conducted to assess the influence of several operational parameters, including doped/undoped stoichiometry, solution pH, catalyst dosage, and radical trapping experiment, on the photocatalytic degradation of Rhodamine 6G (Rh 6G) dye. Furthermore, we investigated the photocatalytic degradation activity of ZnO, Mg-ZnO, and S-ZnO samples with aquoues solution of 5ppm Rhodamine 6G (Rh 6G) at room temperature. Results indicated that pure ZnO nanoparticles have the highest photocatalytic degradation rate constant (0.00344min-1), compared to the samples Mg-ZnO (0.00104min-1) and S-ZnO (0.00108min-1) with Rh 6G dye in presence of visible light emitting diode (Vis-LED) source at room temperature. The enhanced visible light photocatalytic activities of pure ZnO NPs were attributed to their superior surface properties (18.30 m2/g) and effective electron-hole separation.

Influence of Cu2+ substitution on the structural, optical, magnetic, and antibacterial behaviour of zinc ferrite nanoparticles

Ferrite nanoparticles are an emerging material for industrial and biomedical applications. Herein, a simple non-aqueous sol–gel method is used to synthesize CuxZn(1-x)Fe2O4 (x = 0.0, 0.25, 0.5, and 0.75) nanoparticles. X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), UV–Vis spectroscopy, and a vibrating-sample magnetometer (VSM) were utilized to investigate the structural formation and magnetic merits of the prepared ferrite nanoparticles. The Rietveld refinement of the X-ray diffraction pattern confirmed the formation of single-phase cubic structures with Fd3¯m space groups for all samples. The increase in cu2+ concentration in zinc ferrite nanoparticles decreases the lattice parameters from 8.4418 to 8.4368. The energy gap of cu2+-doped zinc ferrite increases from 1.89 to 2.04 eV with a decrease in particle size. MH loop revealed an increase in Ms and Mr Parameters as Hc reduces with an increase in Cu2+ concentration in the zinc ferrite matrix. It was discovered that an increase in Cu2+ content improved the antibacterial activities of Cu2+-doped zinc ferrite against all bacterial species.

In Situ Pressure Controlled Growth of ZnO Nanoparticles: Tailoring Sizes, Defects, and Optical Properties.

ZnO, being an inexpensive, wide band gap semiconductor that possesses high mechanical, thermal, and chemical stabilities and suitable for a wide range of optical and electronic applications, is the preferred semiconductor of this era. In an effort to fully utilize its potential features, ZnO research is receiving increasing attention. This study investigates the influence of pressure on the crystallinity, defect density, size, and morphology of ZnO nanoparticles, synthesized using nonaqueous sol-gel method, and their respective impact on the optical properties. High-crystalline ZnO nanocrystals with a hexagonal wurtzite structure were synthesized at various pressures, including ambient pressure, 25, 37.5, 50, and 100 bars inside a high-pressure reactor. With the increase in pressure, a reduction in particle size was observed, reaching a minimum size (∼10 nm) at 50 bar pressure (ZnO-50). Further increase in pressure causes an enhancement in the particle size. This trend of size variation with pressure is attributed to a tradeoff between esterification and nucleation processes. Contrary to the expectation, smaller ZnO nanocrystals synthesized by the present method possess lesser number of defects, suggesting that high-pressure synthesis is a unique way that offers smaller ZnO nanocrystals of sub-10 nm sizes having high crystallinity and lesser defects in a shorter time span. Also, the optical transmittance of the systems could be greatly enhanced by carefully tuning the particle sizes, with ZnO-50 (∼10 nm particle size) having the highest transmittance (∼95% at 600 nm) among all samples. High crystallinity, uniform morphology, excellent visible transparency, wide band gap, and low defect density make these smaller ZnO nanocrystals a preferred choice for ultraviolet sensors and other optoelectronic devices.

Isovalent substitution of vanadium in LiFePO4: Evolution of monoclinic α-Li3Fe2(PO4)3 phase

We report the synthesis and characterization of isovalent substitution of vanadium at phosphorus site in orthorhombic lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) nanoparticles by non-aqueous sol–gel method. Detailed analysis of X-ray diffraction patterns reveals the evolution of monoclinic α-Li3Fe2(PO4)3 phase and its formation is favored for the vanadium content higher than 20%. A continuous increase in unit cell volume of LiFePO4 is observed with increase in vanadium content from x = 0.05 to 0.20, followed by rapid decrease above x = 0.20, due to the creation of a greater number of Li-ion vacancies. FTIR studies demonstrate that the wavenumbers of various absorption maxima and the covalency strength parameter do not show a variation with x, thus confirm the substitution of vanadium in the form of VO4. Our results through Mössbauer and electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy unambiguously demonstrate the enhancement in the formation of α-Li3Fe2(PO4)3 phase for vanadium content higher than 20%.

A High-Performance Non-Enzymatic Sensor Based on Nickel Foam Decorated with Co-CdIn2O4 Nanoparticles for Electrochemical Detection of Glucose and Its Application in Human Serum

Glucose concentration is an essential evaluation index for many diseases, so it is highly essential to develop a reliable sensor for quantitative glucose measurement. In this paper, based on the high conductivity of CdIn2O4, fast electron transfer rate and excellent electrocatalytic activity of transition metal Co, Co-CdIn2O4 is directly in situ grown on nickel foam conductive substrate, which has sizeable active surface area and three-dimensional interconnected properties by a simple non-aqueous sol-gel method. A series of electrochemical experiments proved that Co-CdIn2O4 material has better electrocatalytic activity than CdIn2O4. According to the detection results, it can be seen that Co-CdIn2O4/NF electrochemical sensor has high detection sensitivity for glucose, which is 13857 μA·mM−1·cm−2, a rapid response time of 1.56 s. The wide linear range of glucose is from 1–1 × 103 μM, and a low detection limit of 0.08 μM. At the same time, the prepared sensor also showed good selectivity and long-term stability. The recovery rates of glucose quantitative test in human serum samples are between 101.4% and 103.3%. All the above results demonstrate that the Co-CdIn2O4/NF sensor has promising usages in the direction of non-enzymatic glucose sensing.

Nickel foam electrode decorated with Fe-CdIn2O4 nanoparticles as an effective electrochemical sensor for non-enzymatic glucose detection

The non-enzymatic glucose electrochemical sensors have great significance in the prevention and diagnosis of diabetes. In this work, Fe-CdIn2O4 was grown in situ on the nickel foam with the one step non-aqueous sol-gel method. The nickel foam modified by Fe-CdIn2O4 was directly used to detect glucose. The high specific surface area of the nickel foam enhances the contact surface with glucose, and effectively promotes the transmission of electrons. The 30% Fe-CdIn2O4 had a good electrochemical performance for the detection of glucose when 30% Fe was combined with CdIn2O4. XRD showed that the 30% Fe-CdIn2O4 had better crystallinity. SEM, SEM-Mapping, and TEM showed that the 30% Fe-CdIn2O4 particles grew evenly and exposed abundant active sites. The detection results showed that the 30% Fe-CdIn2O4 had an excellent response to glucose. The linear detection range was wide (0.01–1 mM), the limit detection was low (1.68 μM), the response time was rapid (2.65 s), as well as satisfactory stability, excellent selectivity, and great sensitivity (8992 μA·mM−1·cm−2). Meanwhile, based 30% Fe-CdIn2O4 non-enzymatic electrochemical sensor was used to detect glucose in real human serum, and its detection performance was excellent. This study has practical application value in the detection of glucose in real human serum.

Assessment of the Morphological, Optical, and Photoluminescence Properties of HfO2 Nanoparticles Synthesized by a Sol-Gel Method Assisted by Microwave Irradiation.

In this work, we optimized the synthesis of HfO2 nanoparticles (NPs) with a nonaqueous sol-gel method assisted by microwave heating, with a direct surfactant-free extraction and stabilization in water. To tune the structural, morphological, and photophysical properties, we explored the influence of reaction time, heating temperature, and type and concentration of a salt precursor. The controlled size, shape, crystallinity associated with high stability, a good yield of production, and stabilization in water without any surfactant modification of these HfO2 NPs open possibilities for future optoelectronic and biomedical applications. The investigation of their optical properties, revealed a high absorption in the UV range and the presence of a large band gap, originating in transparency at visible wavelengths. Under UV excitation, photoluminescence (PL) shows three emission bands centered at 305, 381, and 522 nm and are assigned to the vibronic transition of an excited OH•* radical or to a self-trapped exciton, to threefold oxygen vacancies VO3 with recombination to the valence band, and to defect level, respectively. The presence of oxygen vacancies associated with PL properties is particularly attractive for optoelectronic, photocatalysis, scintillator, and UV photosensor applications. Finally, by changing the nature of the hafnium precursor salt, using hafnium ethoxide or hafnium acetylacetonate, low-crystallized and aggregated NPs were obtained, which requires further investigation.

Microwave-Assisted Non-aqueous and Low-Temperature Synthesis of Titania and Niobium-Doped Titania Nanocrystals and Their Application in Halide Perovskite Solar Cells as Electron Transport Layers.

Undoped and Nb-doped TiO2 nanocrystals are prepared by a microwave-assisted non-aqueous sol–gel method based on a slow alkyl chloride elimination reaction between metal chlorides and benzyl alcohol. Sub-4 nm nanoparticles are grown under microwave irradiation at 80 °C in only 3 h with precise control of growth parameters and yield. The obtained nanocrystals could be conveniently used to cast compact TiO2 or Nb-doped TiO2 electron transport layers for application in formamidinium lead iodide-based photovoltaic devices. Niobium doping is found to improve the cell performance by increasing the conductivity and mobility of the electron transport layer. At the same time, a measurable decrease in parasitic light absorption in the low wavelength portion of the spectrum was observed.

Effect of Co doping on chemosorbed oxygen accumulation and gas response of SnO2 under dynamic program cooling

During the process of metal oxide semiconductors (MOS) gas sensing, the chemisorbed oxygen on the surface plays a significant important role, which determines the surface reactivity and controls the film conductivity. Therefore, it is necessary to improve the amount of chemisorbed oxygen on MOS surface. In this paper, the effect of doping on the accumulation of chemosorbed oxygen on SnO2 surface was studied. SnO2, Co-SnO2 and Nb-SnO2 were successfully synthesized via nonaqueous sol-gel method to study the effect of acceptor doping and donor doping on accumulation of chemosorbed oxygen and gas response. And dynamic program cooling (DPC) was also carried out in different concentrations of acetone and different gases respectively to obtain the R-T curve and gas response. The results showed that the Co doped SnO2 obviously improved the accumulation of chemosorbed oxygen and dynamic gas response, while the Nb doping has little improvement. The reason of these results was also analyzed by band theory in this paper.

A novel non-enzymatic glucose electrochemical sensor with high sensitivity and selectivity based on CdIn2O4 nanoparticles on 3D Ni foam substrate

Due to the poor conductivity of Fe based, Cu based and Co based electrode materials commonly used in the electrochemical detection of glucose, and the uneven stirring and poor conductivity of the traditional preparation method based on glassy carbon electrode. In order to solve the above problems, in this work, CdIn2O4 with high electrical conductivity was directly grown on three-dimensional (3D) Ni foam to prepare electrode materials for non-enzymatic glucose sensors. CdIn2O4 nanoparticles is prepared from cadmium acetate and indium nitrate hydrate in benzyl alcohol by non-aqueous sol–gel method. The electrocatalytic oxidation performances of CdIn2O4 electrode material for non-enzymatic glucose are studied. The results show that the proposed CdIn2O4 electrode material has good electrochemical properties and sensing performance for glucose detection. The electrochemical response of CdIn2O4 electrode material to glucose is recorded that calibration plot for glucose concentrations ranging from 1.0 μM to 1.0 mM (R 2 = 0.99), a limit detection of 0.08 μM, an excellent sensitivity of 3.2925 mA.mM−1.cm−2, a rapid response time of 1.58 s, a good selectivity and a good long-term stability. These demonstrate the significant potential of CdIn2O4 electrode material based on 3D Ni foam as non-enzymatic glucose sensors, which makes it possible to use it as a practical glucose detector. This work could introduce a new concept of nanoparticles modified electrode material grown directly on 3D Ni foam, thus a simple and reliable electrochemical glucose sensor platform is realized. This study was completed in 2019 in the school of materials and energy, Yunnan University.

The effect of shell layer on magnetic, transport, and electrochemical properties of La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 nanoparticles

LSMO nanoparticles with core-shell structure have been synthesized by the non-aqueous sol-gel method and for comparison of their structural, magnetic, transport, and electrochemical properties, the non-core-shell LSMO nanoparticles have been synthesized by citrate gel method. The structural analysis confirms the formation of LSMO core-shell nanostructure with a ~2.3 nm shell layer and non-core-shell LSMO nanoparticle. The magnetic properties of LSMO-CS are explained in terms of the exchange interaction between the core and the disordered surface layer of the nanoparticles. The transport properties are examined with the help of different conduction mechanisms involved in different temperature regions. The low field magnetoresistance (LFMR) and electrochemical properties of the LSMO-CS are improved as compared to the LSMO-NCS nanoparticles.

Tunable electronic properties of TiO2 nanocrystals by in situ dopamine functionalization for planar perovskite solar cells

A high-quality TiO2 electron transport layer (ETL) should possess a good energy-level alignment, perfect electron mobility, and excellent charge extraction efficiency. Nevertheless, the poor conductivity of amorphous TiO2 film from low-temperature preparation is an inherent problem while the high-crystallined TiO2 after high-temperature sintering (>450 °C) limits its application in the low-cost fabrication and flexible substrates. Here, we develop a low-temperature approach to in situ functionalize TiO2 nanocrystals with dopamine molecules (DA-TiO2 NCs) in the synthesis of the nanocrystals through a non-aqueous sol-gel method. We systematically investigate the tunable electronic properties of TiO2 NCs with the variable DA modification and confirm that DA-TiO2 can tailor the energy level alignment as well as increase the charge-extraction capacity, substantially reducing charge accumulation between the TiO2 and perovskite layer. The in situ anchored amino groups (-NH3+) not only preferentially boost the in-plane growth of perovskite grains but also induce the red-shift absorption of perovskite via the strong electrostatic interaction with Br− ions. Based on the DA-TiO2 NCs ETLs, the power conversion efficiency of the fully ambient-processed planar FAxMA1-xPbBryI3-y PSCs is optimized to 19.45%.

High Throughput Screening of Surface Modificated In2O3 for VOC Gas Sensing Array Optimization

Gas sensor array & pattern recognition is the most promising method to improve the anti-interference performance of metal oxide gas sensor. How to choose the initial gas sensor array is very important in gas sensor array optimization. In this paper, an initial array optimization method based on combinatorial and high-throughput (CHT) method is proposed. In <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sub> O <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">3</sub> samples were synthesized by non-aqueous sol-gel method. The metal ion modified In <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sub> O <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">3</sub> gas sensing film was deposited by a gas-sensing film parallel synthesis platform using a combinatorial and high-throughput (CHT) experiment process. A high-throughput gas sensing unmanned testing platform was used to characterize the gas sensing properties. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs), including benzene, toluene, xylene, ethanol, acetone and formaldehyde, were tested at constant temperature and under temperature programmed cooling. And the In <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sub> O <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">3</sub> -based gas sensing film with Ho, Ir, Ru, Mn, V and Mo surface modification were screened out with good cross-selectivity to different VOCs. All the results in this work form a comprehensive and detailed database, providing a reference for choosing the initial gas sensor array.

Silica based hybrid organic-inorganic materials for PEMFC application

It is of key importance to develop membrane assembly electrodes (MEAs) offering high conductivity, thermal stability and suitable performance in the fuel cell. The mesoporous materials functionalized with acid groups are appropriate candidates to improve membrane's properties. The goal of this work was to assess the addition of functionalized porous silica, bearing different acid groups, on the MEA performance in a PEM type single fuel cell. Ni59Nb40Pt0.6Fe0.4 -based amorphous alloys were applied as anode electrocatalysts. The synthesis of functionalized mesoporous silica (UGM-fx) with different acid groups, namely [SO3H], [COOH] and [PO(OH)2], was carried out following a nonaqueous sol gel method. The results showed that the MEA containing silica with PO(OH)2 groups leads to an outstanding fuel cell performance compared to that of the other organic groups-based MEAs and that it outperformed a commercial Pt-based sample. This might be due to the higher proton conductivity exhibited by the phosphonic groups.

Fabrication and characterization of micropillar-type multiferroic composite thin films by non-aqueous sol-gel method using ferroelectric pillars

CoFe2O4 (CFO) thin films were deposited on (Bi3.25Nd0.65Eu0.10)Ti3O12 (BNEuT) micropillar films by a non-aqueous sol-gel method. The pitch size of 2–5 μm in the micropillar films used as ferroelectric pillars, and 5 and 15 CFO deposition cycles were examined for high density of CFO nanoparticles. All the CFO films formed by five deposition cycles on BNEuT micropillar films with a pitch size of 2–5 μm were composed of mostly single-phase CFO with a cubic inverse-spinel structure. All the CFO films deposited on the four BNEuT micropillar films were highly dense and had excellent surface flatness, based on surface field-emission scanning electron microscope observations. Based on the structural, magnetic and ferroelectric characteristics, the optimal pitch size for achieving a high density of CFO nanoparticles was 5 μm, and the optimal number of CFO deposition cycles was five.

Poly(ethylene glycol)@Silica hybrid microparticles prepared via a non-aqueous sol-gel process: A method for merging both classes of hybrid materials

The facile one-pot synthesis of poly(ethylene glycol)@silica hybrid microparticles (PEG@silica HMPs) by an oil-in-oil (o/o) emulsification and non-aqueous sol-gel method is reported. The HMPs preparation process begins with the emulsification of PEG and formic acid in heptane containing a polymeric surfactant and tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS). Then, a non-aqueous sol-gel process takes place at the interface of the droplets in which the formic acid reacts with TEOS to create the silica shell. In addition, part of the PEG reacts with silica intermediates to form hybrid microparticles (class II hybrids). The durability and stability of the HMPs were investigated by testing the effect of different parameters such as the surfactant type and its concentration, the TEOS and PEG weight ratio, the time for the microparticles to form, the weight ratio between the two oil phases, and the type of PEG. The results show the clear impact of the chemical composition on the stability and the structural properties of PEG@silica HMPs. Moreover, it has been found that besides the covalently bonded PEG, which participates in the hybrid network, forming Si-O-C bindings, a portion of free PEG exists within the porous matrix, which acts as a solvent in the voids of PEG@silica HMPs (class I hybrids).

Detrimental Effect and Neutralization of in Situ Produced Water on Zirconia Nanoparticles Obtained by a Nonaqueous Sol-Gel Method.

In this work, the phase purity and size of zirconia nanocrystals samples were studied in terms of zirconium concentration, added water content, and subsequent use of a post solvothermal treatment. The progressive tetragonal-to-monoclinic transformation of zirconia sample was observed to be strongly related to the water content of the alcoholic medium. But more surprisingly, it has been shown that even under initially anhydrous conditions and for particle size below 5 nm, the phase purity of the samples was deteriorated by a side-reaction of alcohol dehydration catalyzed by the surface of the nanoparticles (NPs). Since the phase transformation is essentially driven by the water content of the reaction mixture, we have shown that it was possible to recover an excellent phase purity without the help of any usual dopants by adding a strong alkaline desiccating agent. Provided that a sufficient sodium to zirconium ratio was ensured, the formation of the monoclinic phase was not observed whatever the zirconium precursor concentration. The effectiveness of this cure was related to the ability of sodium metal to generate reactive alkoxide able to neutralize water and to catalyze an alternative sol-gel mechanism leading to the formation of the t-ZrO2 NPs.

Tuning thermal decomposition of ammonium perchlorate by nanoporous Gd2O3 for improved safety and enhanced propellant efficiency

Nanoporous Gd2O3 powders (NGPs) with different specific surface areas were prepared by a non-aqueous sol-gel method and utilized to tune the exothermal decomposition of ammonium perchlorate (AP) for enhanced propellant efficiency and improved safety. It is found that with the increasing dosage of NGPs into AP, the two exothermal peaks of AP merge into one intense exothermal peak, indicating that an “energy stacking” has been achieved. Meanwhile, the unique delay of the first exothermal peak of AP is conducive to the safety of AP in application process. Furthermore, the dependence of decomposition heat of AP on dosage and calcination temperature is more evident than on the surface areas of NGPs, suggesting that the promotion effect of NGPs on the thermal decomposition of AP does not only rely on the surface interaction. Therefore, an electron transfer mechanism is proposed to illustrate the decomposition process of AP tuned by NGPs.

Bi0.9Ho0.1FeO3/TiO2 Composite Thin Films: Synthesis and Study of Optical, Electrical and Magnetic Properties

A visible light active Bi0.9Ho0.1FeO3 nanoparticles/TiO2 composite thin films with different mol.% of Bi0.9Ho0.1FeO3 were successfully prepared via non-aqueous sol-gel method. The incorporation of 5, 10 and 20 mol.% Bi0.9Ho0.1FeO3 nanoparticles in the precursor solution of TiO2 brings modifications in the functional properties of the composite thin films. XPS analysis indicates that interdiffusion of Fe3+, Ho3+, Bi3+/Ti4+ ions through the interfaces between Bi0.9Ho0.1FeO3 nanoparticles and TiO2 matrix reduces the concentration of Ti3+ ions. X-ray diffraction analysis affirms that TiO2 and Bi0.9Ho0.1FeO3 retain anatase and orthorhombic phase respectively in composite films. The composite thin film containing 20 mol.% Bi0.9Ho0.1FeO3 nanoparticles exhibits the most prominent absorption phenomenon in visible region and has significantly reduced indirect band gap of 2.46 eV compared to that of pure TiO2 (3.4 eV). Hall effect measurements confirm that the resistivity of composite film increases by ∼2.33 orders of magnitude and its carrier concentration decreases by 1.8 orders of magnitude at 5 mol.% Bi0.9Ho0.1FeO3 nanoparticles addition compared to those of pure TiO2 film. Moreover, the pure film exhibits diamagnetism, whereas the composite films have both large ferromagnetic and small diamagnetic components. The findings in this research justify that the composite film can be a potential candidate for making improved photocatalyst, resistors and spintronic devices.