Synthesis and Characterization of Cerium doped SrFe12O19 by Auto Combustion method: Photodegradation Kinetics

The nominal two different percentage compositions 1% Ce and 5% Ce doped strontium hexaferrites were successfully synthesized using auto-combustion technique using green fuel. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis confirms the formation of a hexagonal structure characteristic of the magnetoplumbite-type crystal system. The structural and morphological features were further examined using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The optical band gap of doped particles decreases with increasing dopant concentration. The reduced band gap in cerium doped nano particles enhances their catalytic properties. Photodegradation studies of four different dyes under sunlight revealed that decrease in absorbance with increasing irradiation time in the presence of the synthesized nano hexaferrites with no observable loss of the catalyst. Regression analysis for degradation of dyes showed second order kinetics which produce higher values for all dyes with R2 0.9814, 0.9839, 0.9686, 0.9803 respectively for EBT, MO, MB, RAH.