Erum Pervaiz

Influence of Rare Earth (Gd3+) on Structural, Gigahertz Dielectric and Magnetic Studies of Cobalt ferrite

A series of Gd3+ doped nanocrystalline Co-ferrites CoGdxFe2-xO4 (x = 0.0 to 0.1) has been prepared by sol-gel auto combustion technique. Structural and morphology studies were performed using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). Indexed XRD patterns confirm the formation of pure cubic spinel phase. Average crystallite sizes ranges from 16 nm to 25 nm ±2, were calculated from Sherrers formula and Williamson Hall plots. Crystal strain increases with increase in doping amount of trivalent Gd ion. Lattice constant (a) and crystallite size D (311) increases with increase in Gd3+ concentration due to large ionic radii (0.94nm) of Gd3+ replacing Fe3+ (0.64nm). SEM images show the spherical morphology and uniform size distribution. Room temperature DC electrical resistivity decreases (~106) for x=0.025 then increases up to x=0.1 ~ (4.5×107). Dielectric properties have been studied using RF Impedance/material analyzer in the frequency range of 1 MHz to 1GHz. All the studied samples show a semi-conducting behavior as Permittivity and tangent loss (tanδ) decreases with the substitution of Gd3+ in parent crystal structure and have values of 4.92 and 0.016 at 1 GHz respectively. Complex impedance and Complex electric modulus plots were further studied for complete contribution of grains and grain boundary resistances to conduction and resonance frequencies respectively. Magnetic studies by Vibrating Sample Magnetometer (VSM) shows that magnetization (Ms) decreases with increase in Gd3+ concentration from 63 emu/gm to 27.26 emu/gm. Coercivity (Hc) first decreases for x=0.025, after which it increases to 2308 Oe for x=0.1.

Facile synthesis and enhanced photocatalytic activity of single-crystalline nanohybrids for the removal of organic pollutants

This study focused on the synthesis of α-MoO3/rGO (rGO, reduced graphene oxide). One-dimensional nanohybrids under mild conditions and a low temperature wet chemical route produced highly pure single-crystalline orthorhombic α-MoO3 on GO sheets. Four nanohybrids, labeled as GMO-0, GMO-1, GMO-2 and GMO-3, were synthesized with different mass chargings of GO (0 mg, 40 mg, 60 mg and 100 mg, respectively). The photocatalytic performance for reduction of organic pollutants was analyzed. The presence of different amounts of GO in the prepared metal oxide hybrids altered the performance of the material as elaborated by the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller surface area, UV-visible diffuse reflectance spectra and the resulting reduction of organic dyes depicted by photocatalytic experiments. GO as a support material and active co-catalyst decreased the band gap of α-MoO3 (2.82 eV) to lower values (2.51 eV), rendering the prepared hybrids usable for visible-light-induced photocatalysis. The large specific surface area (72 m2 g-1) of the mesoporous α-MoO3/rGO nanohybrid made it an efficient photocatalyst for the elimination of azo dyes. Very fast reduction (100%) of Rhodamine B was observed in a few minutes, while Congo Red was degraded by 76% in 10 min, leading to the formation of stable intermediates that were completely neutralized in 12-14 h under light irradiation. The amount of GO loaded in the samples was limited to a point to achieve better results. After that, increasing the amount of GO decreased the extent of degradation due to the presence of a higher electron acceptor. Photocatalytic experiments revealed the synergistic effect, high selectivity of the prepared nanohybrids and degradation of azo dyes. The kinetics of the degradation reaction were studied and found to follow a pseudo first-order reaction.

Nitrogen doped RGO–Co3O4 nanograin cookies: highly porous and robust catalyst for removing nitrophenol from waste water

The fabrication of nanograins with a uniform morphology wrapped with reduced graphene oxide (RGO) in a designed manner is critical for obtaining a large surface, high porosity and efficient catalytic ability at mild conditions. Hybrid structures of metal oxides decorated on two-dimensional (2D) RGO lacked an interface and channels between the individual grains and RGO. The present work focuses on the synthesis of RGO-wrapped Co3O4 nanograin architecture in micron-sized polyhedrons and the ability to reduce aromatic nitro compounds. Doping N in the designed microstructure polyhedrons resulted in very large surface area (1085.6 m2 g-1) and pore density (0.47 m3 g-1) microcages. Binding energies from x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Raman intensities confirmed the presence of doped N and RGO-wrapped around Co3O4 nanograins. However, the morphology and microstructure was supported by FESEM and HRTEM images revealing the fabrication of high integrity RGO-Co3O4 microstructure hybrids composed of a 10 nm grain size with narrower grain size distribution. Ammonia treatment produced interconnected channels and dumbbell pores that facilitated ion exchange between the catalyst surface and the liquid medium at the grain boundary interfaces, and offered less mass transport resistance providing fast adsorption of reactants and desorption of the product causing surface renewal. Prepared N-RGO-Co3O4 shows the largest percentage reduction (96%) of p-nitrophenol (p-NP) at room temperature as compared to pure Co3O4 and RGO-Co3O4 nanograin microstructures over 10 min. Fabricated architectures can be applied effectively for fast and facile treatment of industrial waste streams with complex organic molecules.

Highly integrated nanocomposites of RGO/TiO2 nanotubes for enhanced removal of microbes from water

ABSTRACT Highly integrated nanocomposite of Graphene oxide (GO) and its derivatives with metal oxides is essential for enhanced performance for various applications. Tuning the morphology is an important aspect during nanomaterials synthesis; this has an amplifying influence upon physicochemical properties of advanced functional materials. In this research work, GO/TiO2 nanotube composites have been successfully synthesized via alkaline hydrothermal treatment method by augmenting GO layers with two different phases of TiO2 (anatase and rutile) nanoparticles, followed by the hydrothermal treatment that also have caused reduction of GO to reduced GO (RGO). The morphology of the as-prepared samples appeared to be nanotubes with a large aspect ratio (length to diameter). The synthesized materials have been characterized using various techniques to determine their morphological and functional properties. Large surface area (158 m2/g) nanotube composites found accountable as effective disinfectant for water containing microorganisms. The antimicrobial activity of the synthesized composites was examined by disk diffusion method and optical density for bacterial growth using two different bacterial species; Escherichia Coli (E.coli, Gram-negative) and Staphylococcus Aureus (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, Gram-positive). The antibacterial study revealed that, the anatase phase RGO/TiO2 nanotube composites manifested appreciable effect on both bacteria as compared to rutile phase RGO/TiO2 nanotubecomposite. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT

Enhanced Photocatalytic Response of N Doped Niobium Titanates Prepared by Ion Exchange Process

Herein we report the homogeneous and effective substitution of O by N in the layered titanates. The resultant materials HTiNbO5-xNx (350°C, 30 min) unveiled extraordinary band-to-band excitation and increased absorption intensity (induced by oxygen vacancies). Upward shift of valence band maximum by N 2p states is confirmed by photoelectron spectroscopy and is concluded as the source of band-to-band visible light excitation. The electrons generated upon visible light excitation in the conduction band of HTiNbO5-xNx (350°C, 30 min) had strong reduction ability, reducing O2 into active O2•- radicals during photocatalysis. These findings are the clear evidence for the substantial role of doped N in achieving band-to-band visible-light photon excitation in layered titanates. The new physical insights into substitutional N in layered titanates with hydrogen bond (weak bond energy) gained here may have important implications for developing other efficient visible light photocatalysts by nonmetal doping.

Magnetic and RF-electromagnetic absorbing study of aluminum doped nickel ferrites prepared by two techniques

Pure phase aluminum doped nickel ferrite nanoparticles [NiAl x Fe2?x O4] with x?=?0.0, 0.25 and 0.5 have been investigated for magnetic and electromagnetic absorbing properties in S band and influence of Al3+ ions has been studied. Nickel aluminum ferrites have been synthesized by co-precipitation and sol?gel auto combustion routes. Magneto-dielectric properties were measured in terms of complex permeability (?*) and complex permittivity (?*) at 300 K in the frequency range of 1 MHz to 3 GHz using RF material/impedance analyzer. Dielectric permittivity (?? and ??) has been observed to decrease with the increase in applied frequency and concentration of aluminum ions (x?=?0.0?0.5). Magnetic permeability (?? and ??) has been found to decrease with the increase in aluminum ions concentration. Electromagnetic absorbing properties were studied for all the samples by calculating the reflection losses (RL) in the frequency range of 1 MHz?3 GHz using the permittivity and permeability measurements in accordance with the transmission line theory. RL (dB) values lie in the range of ?42 dB to ?57 dB. RL values (>??10 dB) confirm more than 90% absorption of electromagnetic waves incident normal to the material surface. Aluminum doping has increased the RL values from ?45 dB to ?57 dB along with the shift of RL dip towards the higher frequency side for the samples prepared by sol?gel auto combustion technique. Magnetic properties have been studied by vibrating samples magnetometer (VSM) at room temperature and a decrease in magnetic properties has been observed due to increase in x from 0.0?0.5.