Abstract
Dysprosium and cobalt co-doped bismuth ferrites (BiFeO3) were successfully synthesized by co-precipitation method. Bi1-xDyxCoyFe1-yO3 (where x= 0.00, 0.01, 0.02, 0.03, 0.04, 0.05 and y= 0.00, 0.10, 0.20, 0.30, 0.40, 0.50) nanoparticles were characterized by Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Average particles size estimated by SEM was < 100 nm. XRD estimated the crystallite size in the range of 29-56 nm and confirmed the rhombohedral phase of Bi1-xDyxCoyFe1-yO3 nanoparticles unit cells. Application studies were done through dielectric parameters and photocatalysis experiments. Least dielectric constant observed was 12.673 for Bi0.97Dy0.03Co0.3Fe0.7O3 and maximum of 27.64 for Bi1Dy0Co0Fe1O3. Methylene blue was taken as representative organic dye for its photocatalytic degradation by Bi1-xDyxCoyFe1-yO3 nanoparticles under visible light. Dye was completely degraded under half an hour. Synthesized nanoparticles are magnetically separable therefore can easily be reclaimed for further usage as photocatalyst.