Copper and cerium co-doped cobalt ferrite nanoparticles: structural, morphological, optical, magnetic, and photocatalytic properties.

A rapid synthetic technique is investigated for magnetic nanoparticles (CoCuFeCeO (x = 0, y = 0), (x = 0.05, y = 0), (x = 0, y = 0.5), and (x = 0.05, y = 0.5)). The structure, morphology, optical and magnetic performance of prepared nanoparticles are analyzed by powder XRD, XPS, FT-IR, SEM-EDAX, TEM, DRS, and VSM. The photocatalytic activity of the synthesized nanoparticles for the removal of the Congo red (CR) dye and bisphenol A (BPA) from aqueous solution is examined by UV-visible spectrometer. Research indicates that the co-doping of Cu and Ce showed marked effect on the structural, optical, magnetic, and photocatalytic properties of the CoFeO nanoparticles. DRS showed that the CoCuFeCeO nanoparticles have lower band gap energy (0.78 eV) than other synthesized compounds. High removal percentage of CR and BPA (99.09% and 99.33%) was observed within 30 min and 180 min under visible and UV-light illumination respectively using CoCuFeCeO. The corresponding photocatalytic degradation kinetics and mechanism are analyzed.