Multifunctional magnetic CoFe2O4 nanoparticles for the photocatalytic discoloration of aqueous methyl violet dye and energy storage applications

A magnetic visible light active CoFe 2 O 4 nano photocatalyst was prepared by co-precipitation technique and its catalytic performance was evaluated by discoloration of methyl violet (MV) dye. The optical, magnetic, and morphological properties of the annealed CoFe 2 O 4 photocatalyst were characterized by UV–Vis, VSM, FE-SEM, EDX, TEM, and FT-IR spectroscopic techniques. Further, the calcined CoFe 2 O 4 nanoparticles were used as heterogeneous catalyst in H 2 O 2 assisted discoloration of MV dye under visible light irradiation, in which 71% color removal was achieved within 120 min. The photodiscoloration of aqueous solution of MV dye was found to follow pseudo-first order kinetics. The supercapacitor measurements were also accomplished in 1 M aqueous KOH electrolyte for the sample CoFe 2 O 4 NP’s calcined at 350 °C. The as-prepared CoFe 2 O 4 electrode displayed significantly improved specific capacity value (1233 F/g at the scan rate of 5 mVs −1 ). In addition, capacity retention of CoFe 2 O 4 was found to be with 90% upto 5000 GCD cycles. Thus, the magnetic CoFe 2 O 4 NP’s were demonstrated as an efficient photocatalyst as well as suitable electrode material for energy storage application.