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Nanocrystalline particles of a bismuth ferrite (BiFO3, BFO) co-doped by praseodymium and cobalt, Bi1−xPrxFe1−xCoxO3 (x = 0.00, 0.02, 0.08), were synthesized using the modified sol–gel method in this study. X-ray diffraction (XRD) was used to assess the phase purity and crystallinity of the synthesized particles. The obtained XRD pattern matches perfectly with the standard Joint Committee on Powder Diffraction Standards (JCPDS) card number 71-2494. The synthesized nanoparticles maintain the rhombohedral symmetry in the R3c space group is also confirmed by XRD data. With several excitation wavelengths, to investigate the modes of vibration in doped nanoparticles, Raman scattering spectra for the wavelength range of around 532 nm were obtained. Doping enhances grain size, resulting in a large surface area for active sites, as seen by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) pictures. The spontaneous magnetization was found to be 0.278, 1.128 and 0.625 emu/g at an applied magnetic field of 30,000 G for praseodymium and cobalt doped BFO nanoparticles, (Bi1−xPrxFe1−xCoxO3 (x = 0.00, x = 0.02 and 0.08)). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, a new biopolymer electrolyte (BPE) is successfully developed using corn starch complexed with ammonium iodide (NH4I) as host, and low viscosity ionic liquid 1-Ethyl, 3-Methyl Imidazolium Thiocyanate (EMImSCN), as a plasticizer. This ionic liquid doped BPE shows high ionic conductivity of the order 10−4 S/cm and electrochemical stability window more than 3 V, which is suitable for electrochemical application. The ionic transference number (tion) of 0.98 confirms the system to be predominantly ionic in nature. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) shows complex nature, while polarized optical microscopy (POM) gives us an idea about the semi-crystalline nature of BPE. Maximum conducting ionic liquid doped BPE sandwiched electric double layer capacitor (EDLC) and dye sensitize solar cell (DSSC) shows efficient performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have successfully synthesized highly conducting polymer electrolyte incorporated ionic liquid films. There was a rise in conductivity by ionic liquid doping which is clarified by impedance spectroscopy. Fourier transform infra red spectroscopy confirms complexation as well as composite nature. Polarized optical microscopy shows decrease in crysatllinity (more amorphous) by ionic liquid doping. Maximum conducting ionic liquid incorporated polymer electrolyte sandwitched between electrodes, used for fabricating electrical double layer capacitor (EDLC) and dye sensitized solar cell (DSSC) further affirm that these ionic liquid doped polymer electrolyte could be a novel alternative in electrochemical devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herein, we demonstrate a process for the synthesis of a highly crystalline bi-functional manganese (Mn)-doped zinc silicate (Zn2SiO4) nanostructures using a low-cost sol–gel route followed by solid state reaction method. Structural and morphological characterizations of Mn-doped Zn2SiO4 with variable doping concentration of 0.03, 0.05, 0.1, 0.2, 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0 wt% were investigated by using X-ray diffraction and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM) techniques. HR-TEM-assisted elemental mapping of the as-grown sample was conducted to confirm the presence of Mn in Zn2SiO4. Photoluminescence (PL) spectra indicated that the Mn-doped Zn2SiO4 nanostructures exhibited strong green emission at 521 nm under 259 nm excitation wavelengths. It was observed that PL intensity increased with the increase of Mn-doping concentration in Zn2SiO4 nanostructures, with no change in emission peak position. Furthermore, magnetism in doped Zn2SiO4 nanostructures was probed by static DC magnetization measurement. The observed photoluminescence and magnetic properties in Mn-doped Zn2SiO4 nanostructures are discussed in terms of structural defect/lattice strain caused by Mn doping and the Jahn–Teller effect. These bi-functional properties of as-synthesized Zn2SiO4 nanostructures provide a new platform for their potential applications towards magneto-optical and spintronic and devices areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we have studied the structural, magnetic, optical, and photocatalytic properties of Bi1−xCaxFe1−xNixO3 multiferroics synthesized by sol–gel method. X-ray diffraction predicted the superposition of two structural phases (rhombohedral-R3c + orthorhombic-Pnma) for (x = 0.05, 0.10) samples. Correspondingly, drastic variations in the Raman modes were detected at low and high wavenumbers with increasing the Ca–Ni content. The larger change in the magnetic parameters at room temperature was identified for Bi0.90Ca0.10Fe0.90Ni0.10O3 nanoparticles caused by the formation of a new orthorhombic phase. The XPS spectroscopy study supported the magnetic enhancement in x = 0.10 samples due to increasing concentration of Fe2+, Ni2+ ions, and oxygen vacancies. The shift of ESR pattern with doping agrees with the magnetization values. The energy band gap values were altered by increasing the Ca–Ni content in BiFeO3 samples, from 2.22 to 2.05 eV. The photocatalytic activity of Ca–Ni doped BiFeO3 photocatalyst showed higher degradation rate (− 0.035/min) of Methylene blue (MB) in comparison to pure BiFeO3. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]