An efficient photocatalytic treatment of industrial wastewater by MWCNTs wrapped Tb0.1Cu0.3Zn0.3Ni0.4Fe1.9O4 nanocomposite

In view of increasing water pollution due to harmful industrial effluents, spinel mixed ferrites and their nanocomposites have attained significant consideration. In this context, spinel NiFe 2 O 4 (NF), Cu 0.3 Zn 0.3 Ni 0.4 Fe 2 O 4 (CZNF), Tb 0.1 Cu 0.3 Zn 0.3 Ni 0.4 Fe 1.9 O 4 (TbCZNF), and Tb 0.1 Cu 0.3 Zn 0.3 Ni 0.4 Fe 1.9 O 4 /CNTs (TbCZNF/CNTs) were fabricated by wet chemical approach. The decrease in crystallite size (D) and increase in bandgap (E g ) were observed after doping in pure NF which confirmed the presence of quantum confinement effect in synthesized samples. The degradation of Congo red (CR), Crystal violet (CV), and Benzoic acid (BA) was studied under visible light irradiation to examine the photocatalytic performance of prepared samples. Pure NF, CZNF, TbCZNF, and TbCZNF/CNTs showed 45%, 67%, 74%, and 86% mineralization of CR in 120 min. In addition, 50%, 68%, 83%, and 91% removal of CV and ~12%, 17%, 27%, and 35% degradation of BA was noticed in same time by NF, CZNF, TbCZNF, and TbCZNF/CNTs, respectively. TbCZNF/CNTs nanocomposite exhibited maximum photocatalytic efficiency for all pollutants. The remarkable photocatalytic efficacy of nanocomposite could be attributed to the combined effect of quantum confinement by doping in pure NF and large surface area and electrons trapping sites provided by MWCNTs. Hence, TbCZNF/CNTsnanocomposite could be an efficient, photo-stable, and reusable photocatalyst for the degradation of harmful organic pollutants.