Abstract
•Sr1-xZnxFe1-yNiyO19 series was prepared via a micro-emulsion approach.•Effect of doping was studied based on structural, optical, dielectric and photocatalytic properties.•The photocatalytic activity was tested against methyl green dye under solar light.•The NPs showed promising efficiency to harvest solar light for photocatalytic applications.
A series of Sr1-xZnxFe1-yNiyO19 with composition of x = 0.0, 0.15, 0.30, 0.45, 0.60 and y = 0.0, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, 0.5 were prepared using micro-emulsion approach and characteristics were studied by XRD, FTIR and UV–vis techniques. The effect of doping was investigated based on the optical, dielectric, structural and photocatalytic properties of Sr1-xZnxFe1-yNiyO19. XRD analyses confirmed the hexagonal crystal structure of pure and doped SrFe12O19 NPs. The lattice parameters, X-ray density, porosity, bulk density and crystallite size of Sr1-xZnxFe1-yNiyO19 and SrFe12O19 were compared. The FTIR analysis confirmed that there was shifting of peaks from region of lower to higher frequency in Sr1-xZnxFe1-yNiyO19, due to the reduction of the size of grains after doping. The current–voltage I-V data shows that there is gradual increase in the conductivity of as prepared doped-material, but the reverse was the case for resistivity, which exhibit good conducting behavior of the fabricated material. Evaluation of the dielectric properties of the samples shows that the AC conductivity and dielectric constant enhanced, while tangent, dielectric loss and resistivity decreased with concentration of the dopants (Zn and Ni). These excellent properties of doped material can be used for the fabrication of various electronic, electrical, microwave and high frequency devices applications. The photocatalytic activity of Sr1-xZnxFe1-yNiyO19 and SrFe12O19 was tested against methyl green (MG) dye. Results revealed that Sr1-xZnxFe1-yNiyO19 degraded 72.23 % of MG dye in 60 min under the exposure of solar light. The recyclability and usability tests revealed that there was a minute loss after successive four runs. Sr1-xZnxFe1-yNiyO19 might have potential applications as a photo-catalyst under solar light irradiation.