Decolonization of MB Dye (C₁₆H₁₈CIN₃S) under the Natural Light Using Pristine and Zn−Y Substituted CoFe₂O₄ as a Catalyst

Abstract

Co2Fe2O4 NPs were made using the sol‐gel ignition technique employing citric acid (C6H8O7.6H2O) as a reducing agent to oxidizing agent with a ratio of 1 : 3. A thorough study of the effects of divalent Zn2+ and trivalent Y3+ ion on their structural, Infra‐red, morphological, magnetic, DC‐electrical, optical, and photocatalytic activity. All of the samples have crystallized to a cubic spinel structure with a single phase space group Fd3m, according to the analysis of the XRD pattern consisting of the intense reflections (220), (311) (222), (400), (422), (511), (440), (533), and (444). Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) suggested the particle size range of ~27 nm; and demonstrates the agglomerations on the tip of MNPs, which are ideal for increasing surface area, and infrared study verifies the spinel structure. With a decrease in the hysteresis loop for the Zn−Y ligand, the magnetic hysteresis loops demonstrate a ferrimagnetic character. With Zn−Y, magnetic characteristics are noticeably affected; saturation magnetization (Ms) 70.9133 to 59.2148 emu/g; and coercivity (Hc) 1900.30 to 193.96 Oe both exhibit a decrease. The DC‐electrical resistivity image reveals the CFMNPs′ semiconducting nature and the optical energy bandgap demonstrates a decrease from their original state. The MB dye's decolorization demonstrates the amazing deterioration in a short amount of time 20 to 80 minutes range was observed to be 35.88, 61.92, 76.40, and 94.07 %.