Eco-friendly dye degradation: advanced Gd-Ni co-doped Ba-hexaferrite photocatalyst for methyl green removal

The current study focuses on synthesizing and characterizing the Gd and Ni co-doped Ba1-xGdxFe12-yNiyO19 nanoparticles (NPs) via emulsion method. The as-fabricated NPs were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis , Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) analysis, Raman spectroscopy, Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) analysis. The synthesis of single-phase Ba-hexaferrites with hexagonal geometry was successfully formed, with co-doping of Gd at tetrahedral and Ni at octahedral sites. SEM analysis revealed tubular particles with rounded spherical geometry, with an increased surface area increase in particle size from 25 to 35 nm upon doping. The magnetic investigation showed increased magnetization (45.7-70.2 emu/g) with co-doping. The doped materials showed excellent photocatalytic activities, degrading almost 90.2% of methyl green (MG) dye in 60 min of sunlight illumination in comparison with 32.26% of their counterpart. The reusability test showed excellent stability and recoverability, with only 1% loss in degradation activity after 5 runs. The results suggest that Gd- and Ni-doped Ba1-xGdxFe12-yNiyO19 NPs have superior photocatalytic activities, more magnetization, an exposed surface area, and excellent reusability, making them suitable for potential applications.