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Nanocrystal composite (CoFe2O4)/(Mg) for photocatalyst of methylene blue and Congo red: stability structural properties from X-ray diffraction and chemical bonding from infra-red spectroscopy

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Abstract

The ability of CoFe2O4/Mg composite to degrade pollutants and be used repeatedly indicates that it has a high potential as a new candidate material for reducing the environmental pollution. This study aims to investigate the effect of Mg in CoFe2O4/Mg composite on the performance of photocatalysts for textile wastewater treatment. The sol–gel method was used to synthesize CoFe2O4/Mg powder, which was then characterized using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and UV–visible (UV–vis) spectroscopy. The average crystal size and splitting between two optical phonon modes decrease with increasing Mg concentration in the composite. Composite band gaps are 2.48 eV, 2.72 eV, and 2.94 eV for 0% Mg, 30% Mg, and 50% Mg, respectively. The best degradation efficiency with a high kinetic rate constant of the photocatalyst is when the Mg concentration in the composite was 50%. The photocatalyst degradation efficiency is due to Mg-mediated electron and hole recombination rate suppression. The XRD and FTIR spectra for 50% Mg before and after textile wastewater degradation show structural stability, confirmed by five degradation cycles. The scanning electron microscope shows surface image olid surfaces with the agglomeration of CoFe2O4 and Mg atoms and a wide surface. This suggests that it could be a new composite.as a promising catalyst.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the PT (Penelitian Terapan) funded by the Indonesia Government (DIKTI/BRIN) 2021 Grant: 752/UN4.22/PT.01.03/2022.

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  1. Department of Physics, Hasanuddin University, Makassar, 90245, Indonesia

    Nurul Fauziah, Syarifuddin Syarifuddin, Heryanto Heryanto & Dahlang Tahir

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NF: Writing original draft. SS and HH: Software, Validation Writing original draft. DT: Writing original draft, Editing, review, and finalization.

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Fauziah, N., Syarifuddin, S., Heryanto, H. et al. Nanocrystal composite (CoFe2O4)/(Mg) for photocatalyst of methylene blue and Congo red: stability structural properties from X-ray diffraction and chemical bonding from infra-red spectroscopy. Journal of Materials Research 38, 2059–2071 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1557/s43578-023-00945-7

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