Visible light photocatalytic and magnetic properties of V doped α-Fe2O3 (VFO) nanoparticles synthesized by polyol assisted hydrothermal method

Abstract

Vanadium-doped α-Fe₂O₃ nanoparticles (VFO nanoparticles) were prepared by polyol-assisted hydrothermal method. The impact on the structure, optical, magnetic and photocatalytic properties of α-Fe₂O₃ nanoparticles were studied by varying the vanadium concentration from 1 to 5%. XRD analysis confirms the presence of hematite phase with hexagonal structure and estimates the nanocrystals size as ∼26-38 nm. FESEM and TEM reveal the formation of 3D flower-like morphology bundled with 2D nanoflakes. The estimated band gap energy was in the range 2.01 eV-2.12 eV. XPS study shows the presence of vanadium in V⁴⁺ oxidation state in VFO nanoparticles. VSM study shows a non-saturated hysteresis loop with weak ferromagnetic behavior for all the VFO nanoparticles. 5% V doped α-Fe₂O₃ nanoparticles (5%VFO nanoparticles) exhibited superior visible light driven photocatalytic activity compared to other samples.

Keywords: 3D-flower structure; Magnetic properties; Photocatalysis; V doped α-Fe(2)O(3).