The correlation of bandgap with the crystallite size using the quantum confinement effect for wastewater treatment

Porous structured materials have immense applications in the refinement of wastewater. The metal oxides blended with 2-D porous materials can be used as an efficient photo-catalyst for the treatment of polluted water. For this purpose, we have synthesized water-stable Ni0.3Zn0.7Fe2O4 (NZF) and Ni0.3...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Khadijah MohammedSaleh Katubi, Alizah Jabeen, Z.A. Alrowaili, Imran Shakir, M.S. Al-Buriahi, Muhammad Farooq Warsi
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-04-01
Series:Desalination and Water Treatment
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1944398625001316
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Summary:Porous structured materials have immense applications in the refinement of wastewater. The metal oxides blended with 2-D porous materials can be used as an efficient photo-catalyst for the treatment of polluted water. For this purpose, we have synthesized water-stable Ni0.3Zn0.7Fe2O4 (NZF) and Ni0.3Zn0.7Mg0.05Fe1.95O4 (NZMF) and Ni0.3Zn0.7Mg0.05Fe1.95O4/r-GO (NZMF@rGO) porous materials for degradation of toxic contaminants from industrial waste. The prepared materials were characterized by XRD, SEM, and UV-Visible spectroscopy and further used as photo-catalytic entities for the degradation of crystal violet (CV) and benzoic acid (BA) as targeted pollutants. The optical band gap of NZMF (1.79 eV) was higher than pristine NZF (1.74 eV) and the reduction (NZF = 22.59 nm and NZMF = 22.45 nm) in the crystallite size according to the quantum confinement effect as the different ionic radius and electronic configuration of magnesium (Mg) compared to Fe are likely to alter the crystal and electronic band structures, thus influencing the bandgap and crystallite size. EIS analysis presented higher value of charge transfer by NZMF because of lower value of charge transfer resistance (Rct = 4.34 Ω) than the pristine NZF. The photocatalytic experiment presented the maximum degradation of targeted pollutants (BA= 72.05 %, CV= 92.6 %) using rGO comprised NZMF. Hence, NZMF@rGO can be used as an interesting photoactive material for the conversion of poisonous chemicals into functional by-products (H2O and CO2).
ISSN:1944-3986