Citric Acid Fuctionalized Magnetic Ferrite Nanoparticles for Photocatalytic Degradation of Azo Dye

Abstract

In this study different magnetic ferrite nanoparticles (MFe2O4, where M = Fe, Mn, Zn) were synthesized through an aqueous coprecipitation method and then functionalized with citric acid for the degradation of azo dye present in industrial waste water. Here we evaluated the role of citric acid for photocatalytic application. The synthesized nanoparticles were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and the catalytic activity in degradation of methyl orange (MO) was evaluated. The rate of MO degradation in different magnetic systems was determined by UV-Vis spectroscopy. The effect of active parameters (pH, initial MO concentration and effect of sunlight) on degradation performance was investigated. For the first time, citric acid chemistry is successfully exploited to develop a photocatalyst that can successfully degrade the dyes. This citric acid functionalized magnetic ferrite nanoparticles are very much effective for photocalytic degradation of dye and also these can be recollected with the help of permanent magnet for successive uses.