Sustainable Industrial Wastewater Treatment and Antibacterial Activity using Environmental Friendly Ferrite Nanoparticles

Abstract

A comparison studies of two unique bimetallic spinel ferrite nanoparticles synthesized by the sol-gel process, namely Co-NiFe2O4 andCu-ZnFe2O4 were investigated. Various characterization approaches were utilized to examine the structural, morphological, magnetic and electrical characteristics of the nanoparticles. Both Co-NiFe2O4 and Cu-ZnFe2O4 nanoparticles formed single-phase spinel structures, according to X-ray diffraction (XRD) research whereas FTIR spectra provided information about the vibrational modes and chemical bonding within the nanoparticles confirmed the presence of desired metal-oxygen bonds chemical bonding within the nanoparticles. The UV-Vis spectroscopy revealed the optical absorption properties of the nanoparticles indicating the presence of energy bandgaps in the visible range. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images suggested the uniform and well-dispersed nanoparticles with average sizes in the nanoscale range. Vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM) measurements demonstrated that both Co-NiFe2O4 and Cu-ZnFe2O4 nanoparticles exhibited ferromagnetic behaviour at room temperature. The saturation magnetization values were found to be higher for Co-NiFe2O4 nanoparticles compared to Cu-ZnFe2O4 nanoparticles, suggesting the superior magnetic properties of the former. As a result, ferrites demonstrate promise in industrial wastewater treatment, facilitating efficient heavy metal removal and advanced organic pollutant degradation, contributing to a sustainable and effective solution. The antibacterial efficacy of synthesized bimetallic ferrite nanoparticles against Salmonell typhi, Escherichia coli, Staphyloccus aureus, Bacillus cereus proves that the synthesized ferrite nanoparticles possess a good antibacterial activity against the selected pathogens.