Effect of neodymium (Nd) doping on the photocatalytic organic dye degradation performance of sol-gel synthesized CoFe2O4 self-assembled microstructures.

Trivalent Neodymium doped CoFe 2 O 4 was investigated as the potent photocatalyst for wastewater treatment. The CoFe 2 O 4 and Nd-doped CoFe 2 O 4 with various concentrations, such as 5, 10, and 15%, were prepared to employ the sol-gel technique. Structural characterization of the synthesized materials was done by powder X-ray Diffraction and Raman studies. The optical UV–Visible spectroscopy provides the optical properties of CoFe 2 O 4 and Nd-doped CoFe 2 O 4 and the XPS spectra, which identify the constituting elements with their oxidation states, confirm the incorporation of Nd into the CoFe 2 O 4 lattice. SEM was performed to investigate their surface morphology, showing the self-assembled microstructures of CoFe 2 O 4. The dye degradation process was investigated for the synthesized samples with methylene blue dye using UV–Visible spectroscopy, which reveals the photocatalytic performance of pure CoFe 2 O 4 and Nd doped CoFe 2 O 4 by measuring the absorbance of methylene blue at the same interval of time. The 5% Nd doped CoFe 2 O 4 exhibits enhanced photocatalytic activity with a degradation efficiency of 72% within 4 h, which is higher than the pure sample. Outcomes indicates that the synthesized material can be useful in wastewater treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]