A Facile Synthesis of Metallic (Zn and Co) Ferrite nanostructures as Efficient Solid Photocatalysts for Degradation of Methyl Orange and Methyl Blue under Sunlight

In this study, CoFe۲O۴  (CoF) and ZnFe۲O۴ (ZnF) photocatalysts were successfully prepared by a facile and simple chemical precipitation method for degradation of methylene blue (MB) and methyl orange (MO) dyes under direct sunlight irradiation. The obtained ferrites were then characterized through XRD, TEM, EDS, UV-vis, and SEM. XRD and TEM results exhibited cubic nanostructures with sizes ranging from ۹ to ۱۶ nm and ۱۱ to ۱۸ nm for ZnF and CoF, respectively. SEM images showed homogenous, porous flat surfaces. EDS spectra confirmed the successful synthesis of ZnF and CoF nanostructures with high purity. UV-vis spectra results of MB and MO dyes showed maximum sunlight absorbance in the absence of ZnF and CoF, while a regular decrease in the sunlight absorbance was observed in the presence of ZnF and CoF within ۱۵-۶۰ min. The UV-vis results also showed that ZnF had higher photocatalytic activity than CoF. The experimental findings showed that the highest % degradation was ۹۲.۸۹% and ۹۶.۸۹% for MO and MB dyes, respectively, over ZnF compared to CoF photocatalyst (۸۷.۵۵% and ۸۸.۴۱% for MO and MB, respectively). These findings confirm that porous ZnF and CoF nanostructures are critical in promoting the degradation of dyes under sunlight instead of UV-vis light lamps that consume/require electrical energy.

کلیدواژه ها:

Metallic ferrites ، CoFe۳O۴ ، photocatalysts ، methyl orange ، ZnFe۲O