Efficient photocatalytic degradation of acid fuchsin in aqueous solution using separate porous tetragonal-CuFe2O4 nanotubes

To develop a new promising magnetic photocatalyst, homogeneous tetragonal-CuFe2O4 (t-CuFe2O4) nanotubes were successfully synthesized via the electrospinning technique followed by heating treatment. The detailed investigation of chemical phase and microstructure reveals that the obtained samples are inversely spinel CuFe2O4 nanotubes with an average diameter of about 272 +/- 2 nm, which are assembled by numerous CuFe2O4 single crystal nanoparticles with regular polyhedron structure and possess a very outstanding porous feature. Furthermore, element mapping, UV-vis adsorption spectrum, N-2 adsorption-desorption isotherm, and magnetic hysteresis loop indicate that these t-CuFe2O4 nanotubes have uniform component distribution, strong light response in the range of 200 nm-800 nm, considerable specific surface area of 12.8 m(2)/g and porosity of 15.5 nm, and enough magnetization of about 18 emu/g. Therefore, the t-CuFe2O4 nanotubes show an excellent catalytic activity and durability for the photodecomposition of acid fuchsin dye in aqueous solution under a simulated sunlight source. Furthermore, these CuFe2O4 nanotubes could be acted as an eco-friendly and recyclable photocatalyst because they can be efficiently separated from the residual solution. Finally, a mechanism is presented for the significant photocatalytic performance of the porous CuFe2O4 nanotubes. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.