Design of MIL-53/carbon aerogel/CoFe2O4 ternary composites with improved photocatalytic activity for water treatment

A novel MIL-53/CA/CoFe 2 O 4 ternary nanocomposite was successfully synthesized via a facile hydrothermal- in situ precipitation route, integrating the porous carbonaceous aerogel (CA) framework with MIL-53(Fe) and magnetic CoFe 2 O 4 nanoparticles. The structure and morphology of the composites were systematically analyzed using XRD, FTIR, FESEM/EDS mapping, HRTEM, and UV-DRS, confirming the formation of a well-crystallized composite structure in which MIL-53 and CoFe 2 O 4 nanoparticles were uniformly anchored onto the CA matrix. The synergistic interfacial coupling between MIL-53, CA, and CoFe 2 O 4 significantly enhanced charge transfer and suppressed electron-hole pair recombination, as evidenced by the improved photocatalytic performance. The MIL-53/CA/CoFe 2 O 4 composite exhibited excellent photocatalytic activity toward the percentage of degradation of methylene blue (MB) (97.75%) and Congo red (CR) (93.74%) dyes, following pseudo-first-order kinetics with rate constants of 0.0211 min − 1 and 0.0187 min − 1 , respectively. Recycling and scavenging studies revealed that the prepared composite maintained over 90% of its photocatalytic activity after five consecutive cycles, while electron-derived reactive species played a key factor. These results demonstrate that the rational combination of MIL-53, carbon aerogel, and magnetic ferrite components can yield highly efficient and magnetically separable photocatalysts, offering great potential for advanced environmental remediation and energy-related applications.