NiO/MnFe2O4 Nanocomposite Photoluminescence, Structural, Morphological, Magnetic, and Optical Properties: Photocatalytic Removal of Cresol Red under Visible Light Irradiation

Muhammad Amjad; Ismat Bibi; Farzana Majid; Kashif Jilani; Misbah Sultan; Qasim Raza; Aamir Ghafoor; Norah Alwadai; Arif Nazir; Munawar Iqbal

doi:10.1021/acsomega.3c09637

NiO/MnFe₂O₄ Nanocomposite Photoluminescence, Structural, Morphological, Magnetic, and Optical Properties: Photocatalytic Removal of Cresol Red under Visible Light Irradiation

ACS Omega. 2024 May 5;9(19):20876-20890. doi: 10.1021/acsomega.3c09637. eCollection 2024 May 14.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Chemistry, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Bahawalpur 63100, Pakistan.
² Department of Physics, University of the Punjab, Lahore 54590, Pakistan.
³ Department of Biochemistry, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad 38000, Pakistan.
⁴ School of Chemistry, University of the Punjab, Lahore 54590, Pakistan.
⁵ Department of Physics, College of Sciences, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, P.O. Box 84428, Riyadh 11671, Saudi Arabia.
⁶ Department of Chemistry, University of Lahore, Lahore 54000, Pakistan.
⁷ Department of Chemistry, Division of Science and Technology, University of Education, Lahore 54770, Pakistan.

Abstract

In this study, pure nickel oxide (NiO), manganese ferrite (MnFe₂O₄ or MFO), and binary nickel oxide/manganese ferrite (NiO/MFO1-4) nanocomposites (NCs) were synthesized using the Sol-Gel method. A comprehensive investigation into their photoluminescence, structural, morphological, magnetic, optical, and photocatalytic properties was conducted. Raman analysis, UV-Vis spectroscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and X-ray diffraction techniques were used to characterize the materials. The synthesized samples exhibited superparamagnetic behavior, as revealed by our analysis of their magnetic properties. A lower recombination rate was shown by the photoluminescence analysis, which is helpful for raising photocatalytic activity. The photocatalytic activity was evaluated for the degradation of Cresol Red (CR) dye. 91.6% of CR dye was degraded by NiO/MFO-4 nanocomposite, and the NC dosage as well as solution pH affected the photocatalytic performance significantly. In four sequential photocatalytic cycles, the magnetically separable NCs were stable and recyclable. The enhanced photocatalytic activity and magnetic separability revealed the potential application of NiO/MFO-4 as an efficient photocatalyst for the removal of dyes from industrial wastewater under solar light irradiation.