Effects of Ni - substitution on structural, magnetic hyperthermia and photocatalytic properties of MgFe2O4 nanoparticles

Abstract Over the last two decades, magnetic hyperthermia (MH) has become a significant capable additional method to well-recognized cancer treatments such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy. The Mg1−xNixFe2O4 (x = 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4 and 0.5) spinel ferrite nanoparticles (SFNPs) were successfully synthesized and assessed them as agents for MH affect. The synthesized NPs were well characterized for structure, morphology, and particle size, and weight loss using X-ray diffractometer (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier transform infrared spectrophotometer (FT-IR), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Prepared powder samples saturation mass magnetization (Ms) values were enhanced with the enhancing of the Ni2+ -concentration. The Ms values were found to be 40.72–48.18 emu g−1. The synthesized SFNPs as MH agents display well specific heat generation rate (SGHR) values 97–328 W g−1 at a constant frequency of 316 kHz, hence the present synthesized SFNPs could be useful for MH applications and can be used as a significant heating cause for thermal therapy MH treatment of cancer. The synthesized samples were exhibits good Ms, best morphology, monodispersed performance, significant Ms and best SHGR values. All these types of characteristics are vital, for their use in MH treatment of cancer application. The photocatalytic degradation efficiency (DE%) was examined by degrading methylene blue (MB) under visible light radiation in the multi-lamp photoreactor. Our results designate that, Ni2+-substituted MgFe2O4 SFNPs can be best employed for effective wastewater purification. Nearly monosized Ni2+- doped MgFe2O4 NPs exhibited better photocatalytic activity of MB under visible light radiation. These types of catalysts could be useful in wastewater treatment applications. The synthesized biocompatible magnetic semiconductor nanoparticles can be utilized as photocatalysts and could also be recycled and separated by applying an external magnetic field. The developments of monosize NPs with significant Ms are required for advanced biomedical as well as electronic applications. Cytotoxicity studies conducted in MCF-7, MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells, and normal keratinocyte cells showed that the synthesized NPs are biocompatible but possessed a very toxic effect on MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cell lines may be owing to the generation of reactive oxygen species and/or ferroptosis.