Citric acid mediated hydrothermal synthesis of LaMn 1- x Fe x O 3 nanoparticles for visible light-driven photocatalytic applications

Citric acid mediated hydrothermal process was used to synthesise LaMn 1− x Fe x O 3 nanoparticles. The synthesised samples were characterised using TGA, XRD, FTIR, SEM, HRTEM, UV–Vis and XPS techniques. According to TGA study, 800 °C was considered to be the ideal temperature to ensure the crystallisation of LMO, LMFO, and LFO nanoparticles. XRD study shows that the impurity phase, La(OH) 3 was disappeared when citric acid percentage is increased. The joint action of stretching vibrations of Mn–O and Fe–O was observed at 601 cm −1 for LaMn 1− x Fe x O 3 nanoparticles. SEM and TEM images show that Fe doping percentage over LaMnO 3 influences the morphological features of LaMn 1− x Fe x O 3 nanoparticles. The bandgap energy of LaMn 1− x Fe x O 3 nanoparticles is between the bandgaps of LaMnO 3 and LaFeO 3 , according to a UV–Vis spectroscopic investigation. The visible light photocatalytic activity of LaMn 1− x Fe x O 3 , LaMnO 3 and LaFeO 3 nanoparticles was investigated. LaMn 1− x Fe x O 3 nanoparticles exhibited superior photodegradation of methyl orange (MO) dye compared to LaMnO 3 and LaFeO 3 nanoparticles.