Photocatalytic degradation of textile dye direct orange 26 by using CoFe2O4/Ag2O

Abstract

The magnetic and recyclable nanoparticles of CoFe₂O₄ were synthesized by a reverse co-precipitation process. Sonication was used to couple the CoFe₂O₄ surface with Ag₂O. The characteristics and optical properties of the catalyst were studied by powder X-ray diffraction, UV–visible reflectance spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy analyses. Pure CoFe₂O₄ and CoFe₂O₄/Ag₂O were utilized to determine the visible light photocatalytic degradation of Direct Orange 26. The effects of pH, the initial concentration of catalyst and initial dye concentration on the photocatalytic process were investigated. It was found that the presence of Ag₂O remarkably improved the photocatalytic adsorption capacity and degradation efficiency of CoFe₂O_4­/Ag₂O when compared with the pure CoFe₂O₄. Moreover, due to the magnetic behavior of CoFe₂O₄, these coupled nanoparticles can be easily separated from the aqueous solution by applying an external magnetic field. The prepared Ag₂O-modified CoFe₂O₄ exhibited much higher (about 40%) photocatalytic activity than the unmodified one. The results showed that the loading of the Ag₂O significantly improved the photocatalytic performance of the CoFe₂O₄ in which the Ag₂O acted as a charge carrier to capture the delocalized electrons.