Synthesis of γ-Fe₂O₃-CuO nanocomposite: structural and magnetic study and its application for degradation of toxic pollutants

In this article, γ-Fe₂O₃ and CuO nanoparticles were synthesized by precipitation method without using surfactant or using green surfactants. Then the γ-Fe₂O₃-CuO nanocomposites were fabricated. The XRD was used to investigate the crystalline lattice of γ-Fe₂O₃ and CuO nanoparticles and γ-Fe₂O₃-CuO nanocomposites. The CuO and γ-Fe₂O₃ particles have monoclinic and cube phases, respectively. The Scherrer formula calculated average particle crystallite size about 19, 23, and 18 nm for γ-Fe₂O₃, CuO, and γ-Fe₂O₃-CuO, respectively. The morphology, shape, and size of products were characterized via SEM and TEM. The medium size of all nanostructures was estimated under 100 nm. The hysteresis curve of γ-Fe₂O₃ was investigated via a vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). The synthesized γ-Fe₂O₃ nanoparticles are a soft ferromagnetic and had a coercivity about 20 Oe. Photocatalytic properties of Fe₂O₃-CuO composites were checked out via the decay of acid blue, acid violet, and acid black azo dyes in UV light irradiation. The nanocomposites have a photocatalyst degradation about 90% in 10 minutes under UV light irradiation, which has a significant advantage over other works done.