Fabrication of ZnO-CuFe2O4-CNTs ternary nanocomposite for harmful organic effluents degradation by sunlight irradiation

Fabrication of ZnO-CuFe2O4-CNTs ternary nanocomposite for superior photodegradation of harmful organic effluents such as benzoic acid and Congo red dye utilizing sunlight. [Display omitted] •Novel ZnO-CuFe2O4/CNT ternary nanocomposite was synthesized.•The optical characterization confirmed lowering of bandgap energy to visible region for synthesized material.•The prepared nanoparticles degraded 61% benzoic acid and 82% Congo red under solar light irradiation.•ZnO-CuFe2O4/CNT demonstrated synergistic effect on photocatalytic activity. Copper ferrite (CuFe2O4), zinc oxide (ZnO), and the zinc oxide-copper ferrite binary composite were all prepared utilizing wet chemical precipitation method. Their ternary composite (ZnO-CuFe2O4/CNTs) was prepared using the ultrasonic treatment method in order to photo catalytically degrade chemical pollutants like benzoic acid and Congo red dye. Several applications, including X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV–visible spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) were applied to analyze the fabricated catalysts. The formation of ZnO, CuFe2O4, ZnO-CuFe2O4, and ZnO-CuFe2O4/CNTs was confirmed by XRD results. Functional groups in fabricated photocatalysts were outlined using the infrared fourier transform approach. SEM was applied to investigate the surface morphology of produced nanomaterials. A UV–Visible spectroscopy was employed to perform the optical investigations. Under sunlight, the photocatalytic performance of prepared samples was observed. Utilizing Congo red as a colored dye and benzoic acid as a colorless dye, the photo-degradation lethality of produced photocatalysts was evaluated. In sunlight, these prepared nanoparticles degraded 61% benzoic acid and 82% congo red in 120 min. ZnO-CuFe2O4 binary composite material accelerates charge separation and reduces the possibility of charge carrier species recombining, both of which promote catalytic performance. ZnO-CuFe2O4/CNT ternary NC (nanocomposite) has superior photocatalytic efficiency than pure ZnO, CuFe2O4 and binary composite. The scavenging experiment was also conducted to assess which species are most responsible in the photocatalytic degradation of organic contaminants. The predominant photoactive species behind the photocatalytic study are hydroxyl radicals.