Hydrothermal synthesis and characterization of Co_0.5Zn_0.5Fe₂O₄ nano-material and evaluation of its photo-catalytic activity under visible light irradiation

Cobalt zinc ferrite (Co_0.5Zn_0.5Fe₂O₄) nano-photocatalysts have been synthesized via hydrothermal technique with fine crystallinity. The above synthesized nano-photocatalysts (NPs) were characterized by XRD, SEM, EDX and UV−Vis photo-spectrometer. The efficiency of the above synthesized Co_0.5Zn_0.5Fe₂O₄ nanoparticles, as a catalyst for the photo degradation of toluidine blue O (TBO) dye, function of the ratio between the catalyst and the substrate, was studied after irradiation under visible light. The photocatalytic activity of Co_0.5Zn_0.5Fe₂O₄ NPs under the visible-light irradiation was checked by the degradation rate of Toluidine Blue O (TBO). The results exhibited that an efficient interaction between the catalyst and the substrate took place to cause degradation of the dye. The degradation rate of TBO 94.3% was observed in 2 hours. The percentage of degradation of toluidine blue O (TBO) and total organic carbon (TOC) removal were reduced by only 8% and 14% under UV-vis light irradiation, respectively after five successive cycles.