Green synthesis of NiFe2O4 nanoparticles for the degradation of Methylene Blue, sulfisoxazole and bacterial strains

Abstract

The existence of toxic organic contaminants, such as dyes, antibiotics and bacteria in water has created a need for an environmentally safe and viable photocatalyst that can be used in the degradation of various pollutants. Thus, herein, nickel ferrite (NiFe2O4) nanoparticles were synthesized using an ecologically-friendly route using Monsonia burkeana (M. Burkeana) plant extracts and calcined at various temperatures. Structural analyses verified the formation of cubic spinel crystalline structures of NiFe2O4 for No-Cal, NiFe2O4 300 °C, NiFe2O4 500 °C and NiFe2O4 700 °C nanoparticles. The FT-IR analysis showed that the M. burkeana plant's distinctive functional groups were incorporated on the synthesized ferrite nanoparticles. The photocatalytic performance of the various calcined NiFe2O4 nanostructured was tested against various pollutants, such as Methylene blue (MB), Sulfisoxazole (SSX) and bacterial strains, E.coli and S.auerus. Among the calcined nanostructures, the NiFe2O4 500 °C disclosed a remarkable photodegradation of 99% and 74% for MB dye and SSX, respectively. Furthermore, NiFe2O4 500 °C demonstrated the highest degradation of 90% and 86% against E.coli and S.aureus, respectively after 120 min of irradiation exposure. Such degradation could be justified by surface defects detected from the photolumiscence and electron spin resonance. The superparamagnetic features of NiFe2O4 500 °C disclosed that it could be magnetically separated from the solution, due to its near-zero coercivity. Therefore, the simplistic separation and recovery of NiFe2O4 500 °C is very promising for its practical applications. Thus, these findings elucidated that it is possible to degrade various pollutants using an environmentally friendly ferrite material.