Synthesis and characterization of magnetically separable La1−x Bi x Cr1−y Fe y O3 and photocatalytic activity evaluation under visible light

A series of Bi and Fe doped La1−x Bi x Cr1−y Fe y O3 (x = 0.00–0.10 and y = 0.02–0.12) perovskites were fabricated through a facile microemulsion method and were characterized by XRD, DC electrical-resistivity, dielectric, VSM, and UV–Visible measurements. Orthorhombic phase of synthesized substituted chromite nanocrystallite was confirmed by powdered XRD analysis with crystallite size in 47.8–32.9 nm range. DC electrical resistivity was observed to increase from 1.70–39.99 × 108 Ω-cm. Dielectric parameters analyzed in frequency range of 20 kHz–20 MHz were decreased, while magnetic parameters were observed to increase with the increase in dopant (Bi+3 and Fe+3) concentration. Whereas coercivity values was low (narrow hysteresis loop), which indicate the soft ferromagnetic of the prepared material materials which are quite useful to employ in storage devices and electronics. Moreover, La1−x Bi x Cr1−y Fe y O3 degraded 90.80% Rhodamine B dye under visible light irradiation within 55 min. The increase in electrical resistivity, while decrease in dielectric parameters was also observed with increase in dopant concentration, ferromagnetic nature and excellent photocatalytic properties make this material suitable for high frequency energy devices, microwave appliances as well as an excellent magnetically separable photocatalyst for the purification of contaminated wastewater.