Photodegradation of azo dyes: photocatalyst and magnetic investigation of CoFe2O4-TiO2-Ag nanocomposites

In the first step, CoFe2O4 nanostructures were synthesized via a facile precipitation method without using any surfactant. The CoFe2O4-TiO2 nanocomposites were then prepared using the sol-gel method. The silver nanoparticles were produced by reducing silver nitrate (AgNO3) with sodium borohydride (NaBH4). By adding a reducing agent, CoFe2O4-TiO2-Ag was produced by a simple precipitation method. The prepared products were characterized by X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. The vibrating sample magnetometer shows the ferromagnetic property of ferrite nanostructures. The photocatalytic behavior of the CoFe2O4-TiO2-Ag nanocomposites was evaluated using the degradation of three dyes (acid violet, methyl orange, and acid blue) method ultraviolet light irradiation. The results showed a nanocomposite with an applicable magnetic and photocatalytic performance.