Abstract
Lanthanum (La3+) ion doped zinc ferrite nanoparticles were synthesized by combustion method using glycine as fuel. The as-synthesized ZnFe1.96La0.04O4 nanoparticles were subjected to annealing temperature of 900 °C for time intervals of 2 h, 6 h, 12 h, 24 h and 48 h. The as-synthesized and annealed ZnFe1.96La0.04O4 nanoparticles were characterized as a single phase with normal spinel structure. The surface morphology of these nanoparticles were found to be non-uniform and agglomerated with fine pores/voids. The induced strain and dislocation density were reduced with increasing annealing time which enhanced crystallinity and increased grain size. The values of optical band gap calculated from UV/Vis/NIR spectra of the as-synthesized and annealed ZnFe1.96La0.04O4nanoparticles were found to decrease with increasing annealing time. They range from 2.48 to 2.19 eV from the simple method and 2.42-2.12 eV for direct and 1.87-1.71 eV for indirect from Kubelka-Munk function method. The optical band gap in ZnFe1.96La0.04O4 nanoparticles can be tuned as function of varying annealing time and it seems to correlate with induced strains in the nano-crystallites. Therefore, the tuning of optical band gap with just changing the heating treatment of ZnFe1.96La0.04O4 nanoparticles may make them suitable photocatalysis.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 971-978 |
Number of pages | 8 |
Journal | Advanced Materials Letters |
Volume | 7 |
Issue number | 12 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2016 |
Keywords
- Optical
- Spinel
- Structural
- Temperature
- Zinc ferrite nanoparticles
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Materials Science