Magnetically separable NiZn-ferrite/CeO2 nanorods/CNT ternary composites for photocatalytic removal of organic pollutants

•Synthesized Ni0.5Zn0.5Fe2O4 nanoparticles and CeO2 nanorods using hydrothermal method.•Further, binary (Ni0.5Zn0.5Fe2O4/CeO2) and ternary nanocomposites (Ni0.5Zn0.5Fe2O4/CeO2/MWCNT) synthesized.•Z-scheme heterojunction mechanism between NZF and cerium oxide improved the recombination time of excitons.•Excellent photocatalytic efficacy of 93.5% was observed for rose bengal dye using ternary nanocomposites.•MWCNT improved the charge transfer and enhanced the degradation efficiency. Water scarcity and contamination are the foremost global one health challenges, which require immediate nano/biotechnology–based innovative interventions. Hybrid nanocomposites have emerged as novel nanoplatforms for wastewater remediation through photocatalytic degradation of persistent organic pollutants. This unprecedented study reports the economical fabrication of novel nanoplatforms based on Ni0.5Zn0.5Fe2O4 and CeO2 (using the modified hydrothermal method) and their binary and ternary hybrid nanocomposites of Ni0.5Zn0.5Fe2O4/CeO2 and Ni0.5Zn0.5Fe2O4/CeO2/multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) (using facile ultra-sonication method) respectively, for water health management. The engineered nanocomposites were evaluated for the Z-scheme mechanism using morphological (SEM, TEM), structural (XRD), optical (UV–Visible spectroscopy), magnetic (VSM), electronic and compositional (XPS) analyses and employed for wastewater remediation. The ternary hybrid composites exhibit excellent photocatalytic degradation efficacy (93.5%) for removing rose bengal (RB) dye from wastewater on UV illumination. The high dye-removal efficacy of ternary hybrid is attributed to the suitable band gap positions of Ni0.5Zn0.5Fe2O4 and CeO2 metal oxides enhancing its photodegradation efficiency on UV illumination, and to the MWCNT enhancing the recombination time of photogenerated electron-hole pairs during dye-removal phenomena. Owing to their excellent performance and robust stability, the engineered ternary composites possess enormous potential for degrading diversified organic pollutants for wastewater treatment and contribute to One Health management, where photocatalytic degradation attributes are a prerequisite.