Ni₀.₄Cu₀.₂Zn₀.₄Fe₂O₄ Nanoferrite: Synthesis, Characterization, and Photocatalytic Application

Ni₀.₄Cu₀.₂Zn₀.₄Fe₂O₄ nanoferrite was successfully synthesized via a citric acid-assisted sol-gel method, producing homogeneous and phase-pure spinel nanostructures. XRD confirmed the formation of a single-phase cubic spinel structure, while SEM and HRTEM revealed uniformly distributed nanoparticles with size ranging from 12 to 36 nm. FTIR spectra verified the characteristic spinel ferrite vibration and cation distribution in tetrahedral and octahedral site. UV-Vis. analysis showed direct and indirect band gap of 2.14 and 1.63 eV respectively, confirming the semiconducting nature of the material. EDS confirmed the elemental composition, and VSM measurement indicated ferromagnetic behavior with a saturation magnetization of 34.76 emu.g-1 and high coercivity of 6.438 kOe. The synthesized nanoferrite exhibited excellent photocatalytic activity toward Congo red degradation and maintained stable performance over five reuse cycle. These results demonstrate its potential as an efficient, magnetically recoverable, and reusable photocatalyst for the remediation of dye-contaminated industrial wastewater.