Sol–gel synthesis and detailed characterization of manganese ferrite nanoparticle for the enhanced photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue, crystal violet, and neutral red dyes
摘要
In this research, manganese ferrite MnFe2O4 spinel was synthesized using the sol–gel method and characterized to explore its structural, surface, and photocatalytic properties. X-rays diffraction (XRD) analysis confirmed the successful formation of the MnFe2O4 spinel phase at 950 °C without the presence of secondary phases. The surface properties of the material, investigated through Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) analysis, revealed a specific surface area of 15.633 m2/g. Optical characterization using the Tauc plot demonstrated that the synthesized powder exhibits semiconducting behavior, with an energy bandgap (Eg) of 2.64 eV. The photocatalytic performance of MnFe2O4 was evaluated for the degradation of Methylene Blue (MB), Crystal Violet (CV), and Neutral Red (NR) dyes under solar irradiation, showing that the material acts as an effective photocatalyst for water treatment applications where the removal effectiveness surpassing 95% for each dye.