Designing different morphologies of NiFe2O4 for tuning of structural, optical and magnetic properties for catalytic advancements

Abstract

In order to understand the potential of nanostructured materials in the field of catalysis, grave efforts are required towards the synthesis of structurally well-defined systems in the context of shape and morphology. So, in the present investigation efforts have been made towards the synthesis of different morphologies of NiFe₂O₄via a hydrothermal route. The effects of using different reaction conditions on the morphological, structural, magnetic, surface and catalytic properties have been evaluated. The formation of different morphologies via adopting different synthetic methodologies has been confirmed from FE-SEM and HR-TEM techniques. The development of six different morphologies viz. nanoflowers, nanooctahedrons, nanoparticles, nanorods, nanospheres and nanocorns has been achieved. The variations in structural parameters have been studied using XRD. The band gap of all the synthesized morphologies has been found to be in the visible range (1.36–1.56 eV). The surface areas of the synthesized morphologies have also been found to vary greatly with the morphology and nanocorns found to possess a maximum surface area of 904.7 m² g⁻¹. The catalytic activity of the synthesized samples was studied for the removal of organic pollutants via oxidation and reduction techniques. The catalytic activity has been found to depend upon the morphology, with nanocorns exhibiting the highest catalytic activity both for the oxidation and reduction reactions. All the synthesized morphologies exhibited an inherent magnetic character with an excellent catalytic activity and thus can be effectively used as catalysts for the cleaning of the environment.