Magnesium Ferrite/Rice Husk Composite: The Study of Structural, Magnetic and Physical Properties

Abstract

In this study, the Sol-Gel process was used to produce a composite from rice husk and magnesium ferrite. The aim was to see how effective it was at reducing fluoride from fluoridated water. X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), and RAMAN Spectroscopy were each used to assess the crystal structure, phase identification and chemical bonding characteristics, respectively. The produced ferrite reveals a face-centered cubic (FCC) structure in a single phase with no impurities in the sample, according to XRD data. The crystal structure is unaffected by the addition of rice husk due to its amorphous nature. The structural parameter values closely match with those previously reported for the identical structure. The produced ferrite is clearly spinel, according to the FTIR data, and has distinct stretching and vibrational peaks that are caused by the presence of several molecules in the compound. The measured parameters indicate that the manufactured composite may be used in a variety of contexts, such as water defluoridation. The manufactured material has been applied to a real water body for this purpose in order to evaluate the effects of pH, contact time, adsorbent dose, and initial fluoride content in the water. Finally, these ferrites have been employed to remove fluoride ions from several drinking water sources in Lahore, and the results have been excellent.