Enhanced Photocatalytic Activity of Spherical Nd 3+ Substituted ZnFe 2 O 4 Nanoparticles.

In this study, nanocrystalline ZnNd _x Fe _2-x O ₄ ferrites with x = 0.0, 0.01, 0.03 and 0.05 were fabricated and used as a catalyst for dye removal potential. The effect of Nd ³⁺ ions substitution on the structural, optical and photo-Fenton activity of ZnNd _x Fe _2-x O ₄ has been investigated. The addition of Nd ³⁺ ions caused a decrease in the grain size of ferrites, the reduction of the optical bandgap energies and thus could be well exploited for the catalytic study. The photocatalytic activity of the ferrite samples was evaluated by the degradation of Rhodamine B (RhB) in the presence of H ₂ O ₂ under visible light radiation. The results indicated that the ZnNd _x Fe _2-x O ₄ samples exhibited higher removal efficiencies than the pure ZnFe ₂ O ₄ ferrites. The highest degradation efficiency was 98.00%, attained after 210 min using the ZnNd _0.03 Fe _1.97 O ₄ sample. The enhanced photocatalytic activity of the ZnFe ₂ O ₄ doped with Nd ³⁺ is explained due to the efficient separation mechanism of photoinduced electron and holes. The effect of various factors (H ₂ O ₂ oxidant concentration and catalyst loading) on the degradation of RhB dye was clarified.