Synthesis of ZnFe2O4 nanoparticles in presence and absence of Tween-20: Optical property, adsorption and photocatalytic activity

In this work, the zinc ferrite nanoparticles was synthesized via a chemical precipitation approach in presence and absence Tween 20. The samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) and fourier transform infrared (FT-IR). The optical property of the samples was evaluated by UV-vis spectrophotometer. The photocatalytic activity of the samples was evaluated by decolorization of congo red (CR) dye in aqueous solution. A 100 W filament tungsten lamp was used as a visible light source. Furthermore, the ability of the samples for CR dye removal via adsorption was examined. The adsorption and photocatalytic decolorization results for the ZnFe2O4 synthesized in present of Tween-20 indicated that the > 90% of CR dye solution was removed and decolorized after 120 and 30 min, respectively. The samples demonstrated the good removal ability after five utilizations. The Langmuir-Hinshelwood model for decolorization kinetic data was examined.