Structural Investigations and Photocatalytic Applications of Bi-functional Fe ₃ O ₄ -Nd-ZnO Nanocomposites

Introduction: In the present work, Fe3O4-Nd-ZnO (Fe3O4 = 5, 10, 15 wt. %) have been synthesised and investigated for their application as photocatalysts for degradation of Rhodamine 6G (R6G) under UV light. Methods: The data acquired from the different analytical techniques showed the successful assembly of the desired photocatalysts. Morphology of the bare components and nanocomposites are observed to be spherical. The band gap energy of nanocomposites was found to be higher (3.29 to 3.24 eV) than bare components. Synergetic effects of the individual components enabled efficacious photocatalytic performances of the nanocomposites. Results and Discussion: The photocatalyst 5F-5NZ exhibited photodegradation up to 96.52% within 180 min. The nanocomposites retained the photocatalytic activity even though compounded with Fe3O4 in varied amounts. Conclusion: The recycle experiments revealed that the photocatalytic activity was conserved which validated the stable and efficient magnetic separable photocatalysts.