Effect of Magnetic Field on Photocatalytic Efficiency of Cobalt Ferrite/Graphene Oxide Nanocomposite

Abstract

Nowadays, water pollution by industrial routed toxic dyes become a major concern. Organic dyes, which were found in the wastewater of various industries, have a dangerous and toxic effect on the environment and human beings. Among the different methods used that has been employed to solve these problems, photocatalytic wastewater treatment using nanocomposite semiconductor material has become promising. Reducing the recombination capacity of electron-hole pairs is essential to optimize the photocatalytic process guided by semiconductors. Nanocomposite materials, including metal oxide nanoparticles/Graphene Oxide with their advanced physicochemical properties, are common photoactive semiconductor materials that make them suitable for photocatalysis. In addition, using of an external magnetic field boosted to up the photocatalytic properties of magnetic nanocomposites and enable to recycle and reuse of nanocomposites. In this study, CoFe2O4/GO nanocomposite was prepared via the Hydrothermal method, and the effect of an external magnetic field on the photodegradation of Methylene Blue (MB) and Congo red (CR) solutions, both at 100 mg/L of concentration, were investigated. The synthesized nanocomposite was characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), UV-vis spectroscopy, and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and showed that the inverted spinel cobalt ferrites was successfully synthesized by the hydrothermal method. The UV–Vis absorption spectra reveal superior absorption in the high energy region, the Tauk plot suggesting a semiconducting nature of the as synthesized CoFe2O4/GO nanocomposite. The photocatalytic activity of the synthesized nanocomposites with and without external magnetic field was tested in the degradation of methylene blue (MB) and Congo red (CR) solutions, both at 100 mg/L of concentration, as a model of water pollutants. Using a CoFe2O4/GO nanocomposite, photocatalytic degradation efficiencies of 83% and 66% for MB and CR, respectively, were attained, after 90 min irradiation of 18W light. Furthermore, external magnetic field was used to study the activity of the photocatalyst. When exposed to an external magnetic field and light for 90 minutes, the CoFe2O4/GO nanocomposites significantly increased the activity of MB (88%) and CR (76%) degradation. Thus, the CoFe2O4/GO nanocomposite exposed to external magnetic field has the potential to be an efficient adaptable.