Barium hexaferrite nanoparticles: morphology-controlled preparation, characterization and investigation of magnetic and photocatalytic properties

In this paper, barium hexaferrite (BaFe₁₂O₁₉) nanoparticles have been successfully synthesized via a simple co-precipitation route. Six chelating agents such as three amino acids (proline, alanine, aspartic acid) and three surfactants (SDBS, PVP, and EDTA) were used. The result showed that the amino acids decrease the particle size and the best result was observed for alanine. Besides, the photocatalyst activity of as-prepared BaFe₁₂O₁₉ nanoparticles was evaluated by degradation of methyl orange under visible light irradiation (λ > 400 nm). The degradation rates of the methyl orange were measured to be as high as 95% in 200 min. The nanoparticles were also characterized by several techniques including FT-IR, XRD, SEM, and VSM. The VSM measurement showed a saturation magnetization value (Ms) of 30 emu/g.