Abstract
The dielectric, optical and photocatalytic properties of yttrium (Y) substituted cobalt-magnesium (Co0.7Mg0.3YxFe2-xO4) (labeled as CMYF) ferrite nanoparticles have been investigated in detail. All CMYF samples exhibit the normal dispersion for dielectric constant, loss tangent, and conductivity in the frequency range <= 5 MHz. The loss tangents for all Y3+ substituted nanoferrites are lower than the pristine Co-Mg sample. Also, the nanoferrite Co0.7Mg0.3Y0.1Fe1.9O4 (x = 0.1) has the lowest loss with decreasing ratio of 85.6% than the pristine nanoferrite. Nyquist plots have only one semicircle, demonstrating that the electrode and grain boundary contributions are the leading cause of the dielectric behavior of all CMYF nanoferrites. Relaxation time increased from 0.04 to 0.53 mu s with further Y3+ ions addition. The band gap for all CMYF nanoferrites was calculated using Tauc's plots. The nanoferrite Co0.7Mg0.3Y0.6Fe1.94O4 has the lowest one = 1.48 eV. Peculiarly, MB dye removal utilizing the nanoferrite Co0.7Mg0.3Y0.1Fe1.9O4 has an efficiency of 93.81% after 60 min when compared with 5.81% for pure MB. After five runs, the Co0.7Mg0.3Y0.1Fe1.9O4 catalyst did not lose its significant efficiency and produced an efficiency of 92.96%. Thus, the nanoferrite Co0.7Mg0.3Y0.1Fe1.9O4 has the lowest loss and highest photocatalytic efficiency; this nanoferrite can be exploited for storage data besides their utilization for water treatment applications.