Fe-doped LaNi1-xFexO3 perovskite oxides for enhanced visible-light-driven photocatalytic activity

A series of Fe-doped LaNi 1-x Fe x O 3 perovskite oxide photocatalytic materials was prepared using a sol-gel method. The phase composition and morphology of LaNi 1-x Fe x O 3 samples were characterized via X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy , X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and other analytical methods. The photocatalytic performance of the samples was tested by assessing the degradation rate of methyl orange. According to the results, Fe-doping caused the lattice distortion of the initially cubic of LaNiO 3 to a rhombohedral crystal system . In turn, partial substitution of Ni with Fe was found to increase the amount of oxygen vacancies , resulting in the higher mobility of lattice oxygen and thus improving the photocatalytic activity . The best photocatalytic performance was found in a LaNi 0.95 Fe 0.05 O 3 sample with a 5% Fe dopant concentration. Furthermore, the degradation rate of methyl orange in LaNi 0.95 Fe 0.05 O 3 within 120 ​min of visible light irradiation was as high as 98.89%, and its good degradation effect even with respect to other organic dyes such as methylene blue and rhodamine B. Finally, LaNi 0.95 Fe 0.05 O 3 was shown to maintain high photocatalytic activity and excellent recyclability even after numerous operation cycles.