Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
Ceramics International, 2026 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)
Fe-doped MgO thin films were successfully synthesized on glass substrates using the ultrasonic spray pyrolysis (USP) technique, and their structural, morphological, optical, and photocatalytic properties were systematically investigated. X-ray diffraction (XRD) confirmed that all films crystallized in the cubic MgO structure. The peak intensities and widths changed with Fe doping. These variations indicated that Fe incorporation affected both crystallinity and crystallite size. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) survey spectra confirmed the presence of Mg and O and revealed detectable Fe-related features at high doping levels, while detailed chemical-state analysis was beyond the scope of the present measurements. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed that Fe doping modified the surface morphology from compact grains in pure MgO to increasingly agglomerated and clustered structures at higher dopant concentrations. The UV–Vis spectra showed a non-monotonic change in the optical band gap. The band gap widened up to 4% Fe and then decreased slightly at higher concentrations. This trend suggests competing effects from crystallite size and defect-related electronic states. Photoluminescence (PL) revealed a strong quenching effect due to dopant-induced non-radiative recombination pathways. Photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue (MB) dye under UVA illumination demonstrated that Fe doping significantly influenced catalytic activity, with the 0.5% Fe-doped film achieving the highest degradation efficiency (87.19%) and rate constant (0.0114 min−1). At higher doping levels, excess clustering reduced surface-active sites, leading to suppressed photocatalytic performance. These results demonstrated that controlled nominal Fe addition effectively tuned the structural and optical properties of MgO thin films, highlighting their potential for photocatalysis and environmental remediation applications.