Band gap and pseudocapacitance of Gd$_2$O$_3$ doped with Ni$_{0.5}$Zn$_{0.5}$Fe$_2$O$_4$

Abstract

Herein, we present a detailed study of the structural, optical, and electrochemical responses of Gd$_2$O$_3$ doped with nickel zinc ferrite nanoparticles. Doping of Ni$_{0.5}$Zn$_{0.5}$Fe$_2$O$_4$ nanoparticles to Gd$_2$O$_3$ powder was done through thermal decomposition at 1000 C. The average grain size of the mixture was determined to be approximately 95 nm, and phases of cubic Gd$_2$O$_3$, GdO, and orthorhombic prisms of GdFeO$_3$ were identified. The focused ion beam energy dispersive X-ray spectrum (FIB-EDX) mapping results clearly show the morphology of the particles with Gd and Fe as the dominant elements. The structural data were compared with the spectroscopic measurements confirming the formation of multiple phases of oxides and ferrites. The measured optical band gap is significantly redshifted to 1.8 eV and is close to that of nitride compounds of gadolinium metal. The measured specific capacitance was almost 7 Fg-1 at a current density of 1 Ag-1, showing a small drop of 27% when the current density is increased to 10 Ag-1. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) plots of the ferrite doped Gd2O3 electrode at a scan rate of 5 to 100 mV/s indicate the pseudocapacitive nature of the material.