Synthesis and Characterization of NiFe2O4 Nanoparticles for the Enhancement of Direct Sunlight Photocatalytic Degradation of Methyl Orange

Abstract

The current investigation shows the simple and direct sunlight-mediated photocatalytic degradation of methyl orange dye by quasi globular NiFe2O4 nanocrystals synthesized from the high-temperature chemical co-precipitation method. The experiment was carried out under direct sunlight which shows significant degradation results lead to the practical possibility of heterogeneous photocatalysis towards environmental remediation. The as-synthesized quasi globular NiFe2O4 nanocrystals also were characterized by well-known analytical measurements of their structural, morphological, bonding, surface area, band gap and magnetic properties prior to the photocatalytic experiments. The presence of active free radicals formed during the photocatalytic reaction was confirmed from the EPR signals recorded for the solution containing the photocatalyst and dye solution, and accordingly, the photocatalytic degradation mechanism was discussed.