Synergistic effect in the structural, optical, and electrical properties of harnessing NiFe2O4/CuO nanocomposite for enhanced environmental remediation.

This study presents the synthesis and characterization of composite material comprised of NiFe2O4 and CuO. The preparation of this composites involves a facile and cost-effective co-precipitation method, followed by heat treatment. The aim of this study is to explore the potential of this composite material for various catalytic applications. The synthesized NiFe2O4/CuO composites were extensively characterized using various analytical techniques, including X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), impedance analyzer, UV-Visible spectroscopy (UV-Vis.), Brunner-Emmett-Teller (BET), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). These characterizations revealed the successful formation of a nanocomposite material with a well-defined structure and identified the oxygen vacancies/defects in the samples which might result in enhanced photocatalytic efficiency. Photocatalytic activity of 0.5NiFe2O4/0.5CuO composite showed degradation of methylene blue dye by 96.15% in 120 min. This work is not only to understand the photocatalytic mechanism but also to develop effective catalysts for the degradation of harmful organic pollutants.

Visible Light Assisted Enhanced Photocatalytic Performance of ZnO/NiO Nanocomposites Prepared by Chemical Co-Precipitation Method.

A series of Ni1-xZnxO (x═0.1 to 0.4) nanocomposites is synthesized by facile chemical coprecipitation method. The structural analysis is carried out using X-ray diffraction (XRD) graph which reveals both cubic (NiO) and hexagonal (ZnO) phases. Chemical bonding, morphology, elemental composition and optical properties of prepared nanocomposites are investigated by Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) Spectroscopy, Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM), Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDX), and UV-Vis spectroscopy respectively. FESEM micrographs show the formation of nanorods at higher concentration of zinc content. Introducing higher amount of Zn, optical band gap of composites is considerably reduced. Furthermore, solutions of Rose Bengal (RB) and Methylene Blue (MB) dyes are used to investigate the photocatalytic ability of synthesized samples in the presence of sunlight. It was found that the percentage degradation of dye concentration increases with irradiation time and also with the increase in concentration of zinc in prepared samples.