Preparation of the highly efficient CoFe2O4/TiO2 composite in the degradation of organic pollutant through photo-Fenton under visible and solar radiation

Due to globalization and society growth, dyes began to be used daily in various industrial sectors These are often dumped directly into water bodies without any prior treatment. One solution for dye removal/degradation is through photo-Fenton, in which its technological advancement is linked to the development and improvement of catalysts. In this work, cobalt ferrite (CoFe2O4) was synthesized on titanium dioxide (TiO2), and its catalytic activity was evaluated in the photo-Fenton reaction aiming at the decomposition of an organic pollutant in aqueous solution. Cobalt ferrite was synthesized with the support of the solvothermal route. The magnetic materials were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and nitrogen adsorption/desorption. Diffraction patterns indicated that cobalt ferrite was added to the titanium dioxide surface sparsely. Regarding the surface area, a value of 149.4 m² g-1 and a pore volume equivalent to 0.291 cm³ g-1 were determined. The catalysts were evaluated in the degradation of amaranth dye under artificial visible light and solar irradiation. The produced CoFe2O4/TiO2 composite showed satisfactory catalytic activity, being superior compared to pure cobalt ferrite. The catalytic activities for both materials were higher when using solar irradiation, reaching 89% (CoFe2O4) and 100% (CoFe2O4/TiO2) of discoloration in 30 min of reaction, respectively. Therefore, the CoFe2O4/TiO2 composite presents itself as a promising material for the degradation of organic pollutants in aqueous solutions through the heterogeneous photo-Fenton reaction, under solar irradiation.