ABSTRACT
BaFe12O19 (BaM) hexagonal ferrite was synthesised through the co-precipitation route. The thermal decomposition behaviour of co-precipitated powder was studied by DSC-TG. XRD and Raman analysis confirmed the formation of pure BaM phase at 900°C calcination temperature. Morphological analysis was done using FESEM. The magnetic behaviour of BaM was analysed using a vibrating sample magnetometer. The saturation magnetisation (Ms) of 67.7 emu g−1 and coercivity of 5106 Oe was observed in BaM. BaM ferrite with a surface area of 8.2 m2 g−1 was used for the adsorption of methyl blue (MB) and sunlight-induced photodegradation. The optical band gap of the ferrite was ~2.9 eV. The adsorption process followed the pseudo-second-order model and satisfied Langmuir adsorption isotherm. BaM particles showed the maximum Langmuir saturation adsorption ability of 223.86 mg g−1 at an initial MB solution pH of 5.7. The free energy and enthalpy changes of the adsorption confirmed the spontaneous and exothermic nature of the process. About 73% of degradation of MB was found within 3 h of sunlight-induced photocatalytic degradation. Reproduced BaM powder showed high adsorption and degradation efficiency even after five cycles. All these results suggest that BaM particles can be used as a promising material for the adsorption and degradation of MB in wastewater treatment.
Acknowledgments
This research was financially supported by the National Institute of Technology, Rourkela, India.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.