Light-induced Photocatalytic Degradation of Methylene Blue observed using Mg-Cu-Cd Ferrite Nanoparticles

Abstract

A major issue in the industrial sector is the highly efficient and economical treatment of hazardous dye-based colour effluents. Spinel ferrite nanoparticles are more prominent for their unique qualities, such as their optical, catalytic, electrical, and magnetic properties. Moreover, physical characteristics of ferrites may be influenced as well as their catalytic properties by substituting metals like magnesium. In this context, herein, MgxCu0.5-xCd0.5Fe2O4 (x=0.1 to 0.5, and Δx=0.1) nano-ferrites were employed to examine the photodecomposition of methylene blue (MB) under visible light. To optimize the reaction conditions, the effects of different operational parameters including irradiation time span, catalyst amount, initial dye concentration, and pH for the degradation of MB dye were investigated. The maximum degradation efficiency of 93.54% was obtained by using 1 g/L catalyst and 10 ppm MB dye at pH 10 within 120 min reaction time. These results demonstrate the applicability of the Mg2+ doped Cu-Cd ferrite samples for water remediation.