Magnetically separable Zn Co Mg FeO ferrites: stable and efficient sunlight-driven photocatalyst for environmental remediation.

Nanomaterials have recently gained significant interest as they are believed to offer an outstanding prospect for use in environmental remediation. Among many possible candidates, due to their useful properties including magnetic nature, wide surface area, and high absorptivity, ferrite materials hold tremendous appeal, allowing them to be used for multifaceted applications. In the present study, using a sol-gel auto combustion process, a magnetically separable Zn Co Mg FeO ( = 0.0, 0.25, 0.50, 0.75, 1.0) ferrite with superior photocatalytic activity for dye degradation was manufactured. Rietveld refinement and FTIR studies confirm that a single-phase cubic spinel system was built for all samples with crystallite sizes of 34-57 nm. VSM has determined the magnetic properties of the samples at room temperature. With the introduction of Mg and Co in the Zn ferrites, a transformation from the soft superparamagnetic activity to the hard ferromagnetic character was reported. Considering the band structure in the visible region, the photocatalytic activities of the Zn Co Mg FeO ferrites for the degradation of the MB dye under natural sunlight were investigated. ZnCoMgFeO showed an efficiency of degradation of 99.23% for MB dye with a quick 40 min irradiation period with high reusability of up to four cycles.