Pure and Ce-doped spinel CuFeO photocatalysts for efficient rhodamine B degradation.

Wastewater management is becoming a serious issue worldwide. To enhance the reuse of wastewater, one has to remove toxic pollutants present in it. High amount of dye is present in wastewater, and to remove these dyes is the large scope of this research. Herein, we report production of pure and Ce-doped copper ferrite via hydrothermal route. The synthesized nanoparticles were collected and analyzed by basic characterization techniques. The bandgap energy calculated for pure, 1% Ce, and 2% Ce-doped CuFeO was found to be 2.77, 2.57, and 2.36eV, respectively. Reduction in bandgap was attributed to the doping element. The shape and size of pure and Ce-doped products were investigated using a scanning electron microscope. Agglomeration was observed in the pure copper ferrite sample. In the Ce-doped sample, agglomeration was clearly reduced and the 2% Ce-doped CuFeO sample showed growth of small nanoparticles. They showed complete growth and were arranged in a uniform manner without agglomeration. The surface area of the 2% Ce-CuFeO sample was found to be 65.89 m/g with 7.02 nm pore diameter. The photocatalytic activity of the prepared material was observed for rhodamine B degradation. The pure and catalyst-added dye was exposed under visible light. The samples were tested for UV. The efficiency obtained for pure dye solution, pristine CuFeO-added, and 1% Ce and 2% Ce-doped CuFeO-added dye solutions were 48%, 50%, 66%, and 88% within 2 h of irradiation. The 2% Ce-doped CuFeO sample showed excellent photocatalytic activity as the bandgap and morphology were enhanced by doping an appropriate ratio of Ce ions.