Facile green preparation of Y₂O₃ decorated with ZnFe₂O₄ using citrus limon (L.) osbeck leaf extract for photocatalytic degradation of malachite green

The Y₂O₃ decorated with ZnFe₂O₄ was successfully synthesized using Citrus limon (L.) Osbeck leaf extract for the first time. A modification of Y₂O₃ with ZnFe₂O₄ nanoparticles was carried out because Y₂O₃ is stable but has a wide band gap, making it less active in visible light. On the other hand, ZnFe₂O₄ has a small band gap and is cheap. The synthesized ZnFe₂O₄/Y₂O₃ nanocomposites, ZnFe₂O₄, and Y₂O₃ nanoparticles were characterized using FTIR, XRD, TEM, SEM, and DRS UV–Vis. TEM and DRS UV–Vis results show that the ZnFe₂O₄/Y₂O₃ nanocomposite particle has a size of 49,61 nm with a unique shape and an optical band gap of 2.08 eV. The photocatalytic activity of Y₂O₃, ZnFe₂O₄, and ZnFe₂O₄/Y₂O₃ was observed based on the photodegradation of malachite green (MG) dye under visible light. The results demonstrate that ZnFe₂O₄/Y₂O₃ can degrade MG with a photodegradation percentage of 95 % within 120 min, which is better than pure ZnFe₂O₄ and Y₂O₃. After the fourth cycle, the photodegradation percentage of MG by ZnFe₂O₄/Y₂O₃ remained at 88 %, demonstrating good reusability of ZnFe₂O₄/Y₂O₃ for photocatalytic degradation. These findings demonstrate that the use of ZnFe₂O₄ as a modifier may increase the photocatalytic performance of Y₂O₃.