Green synthesis of NiFe2O4@a-Al2O3 nanoparticles as a magnetically separable photocatalyst for the degradation of organic dye

Over the past decades, nanoparticles have attracted much attention owing to their lately discovered characteristics and extensive usage in a variety of fields such as in sensors, catalysis, recording heads, and magnetic drug delivery [1,2]. In the present study, a sol-gel procedure has been applied for the synthesis of NiFe2O4@a-Al2O3 nanoparticles using tragacanth gel which is eco-friendly, inexpensive, cost effective, and simple. The photocatalytic efficiency of NiFe2O4@a-Al2O3 MNPs has been assessed for direct black 122 (DB122) dye degradation as an environment polluting model under visible light irradiation. The structure and characterization of DB122 dye are presented in Table 1. NiFe2O4@a-Al2O3 magnetic nanoparticles was characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). XRD result demonstrated the formation of single phase cubic spinel structure. The photocatalytic activity of catalyst was measured with changing factors including photocatalyst dosage, initial dye concentration, and contact time. The results presented that NiFe2O4@a-Al2O3 MNPs could degrade 94% of the DB122.