Examining the effect of pH on the structural, elastic, magnetic, and photocatalytic activities of Cr–Co3O4 nanoparticles

The present study focuses on the synthesis, characterization, and testing of chromium-doped cobalt oxide (Co 3 O 4 ) nanoparticles (NPs) for photochemical degradation at pH 8, 10, and 12. Transition metal oxides and their composites have excellent photocatalytic behavior and other attractive properties such as non-toxicity and stability, for a sustainable solution to environmental remediation spinel-type chromium-doped cobalt oxide (Cr: Co 3 O 4 ) nanoparticles. Due to this action, a lucid co-precipitation technique was used to coin Cr:Co 3 O 4 nanoparticles at different pH settings ranging from 8, 10, and 12. Samples were synthesized in an array to subject its structural and optical prospects and the spinel-type Cr:Co 3 O 4 were examined by X-ray diffractometer, the crystallite size and structure were calculated by the Scherrer formula, and FESEM examination visualizes homogenous spherical shape. The frequency range of 400–4000 cm −1 was revealed by FTIR, which was induced by stretching vibrations at the A- and B-sites, respectively. FTIR data were used to derive elastic moduli such as stiffness constants, Young's modulus, rigidity modulus, bulk modulus, and Debye temperature. The optical band gap value measured from Tauc plots was shown to decrease and the magnetic behavior of VSM changed from paramagnetic to ferromagnetic with increasing pH concentration. The dielectric constant and loss was estimated and the dielectric constant decreased on increasing frequency was observed. Relevance of the produced Cr–Co 3 O 4 (pH = 8, 10, and 12) in the photocatalytic activity of Methylene blue (MB) dye degradation was investigated, and this improved photocatalytic performance is attributable to the efficient decrease of electron–hole recombination by the Cr–Co 3 O 4 NPs.