Immobilization of nanostructured NiFe2O4 on mesoporous TiO2 as an efficient Z-scheme photocatalyst for high-performance photocatalytic degradation
- 1Department of Materials Engineering, Na.C., Islamic Azad University
Abstract
In the present study, the synthesis of nickel ferrite nanoparticles immobilized on mesoporous TiO2 was investigated to produce an efficient photocatalyst. For this aim, nickel ferrite nanoparticles were synthesized via a citrate-nitrate method, and then a modified surfactant-assisted procedure was employed to immobilize nanostructured NiFe2O4 on mesoporous TiO2. In order to study the photocatalytic properties of the samples, the photodegradation of methyl orange under solar simulated irradiation was examined. The fabricated samples were assessed using SEM, TEM, XRD, BET, and UV-DRS. For indirect transitions, the energy band gap values were determined to be 3.22 eV for mesoporous TiO2 and 3.15 eV for the NiFe2O4/TiO2 sample. Immobilization of nanostructured NiFe2O4 on mesoporous TiO2 caused an anisotropic lattice distortion in the titania structure. The kinetic constant for methyl orange photodegradation by TiO2/30wt.%NiFe2O4 reached 0.0153 min− 1 under solar simulated irradiation, which was 4.6 times greater than that of pure NiFe2O4, 3.1 times that of mesoporous TiO2, and 2.5 times that of TiO2/20wt.%NiFe2O4. The possible photodegradation mechanism of the synthesized nanocomposite was proposed. The demonstrated recyclability of these composites highlights their potential as sustainable materials for high-efficiency wastewater treatment.
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BibTeX
@article{ziaeiabiz2026immobilization,
title = {{Immobilization of nanostructured NiFe2O4 on mesoporous TiO2 as an efficient Z-scheme photocatalyst for high-performance photocatalytic degradation}},
author = {Alireza Ziaei-Abiz and S. A. Hassanzadeh-Tabrizi},
journal = {Scientific Reports},
year = {2026},
month = jul,
doi = {10.1038/s41598-026-63391-5},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-63391-5},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Immobilization of nanostructured NiFe2O4 on mesoporous TiO2 as an efficient Z-scheme photocatalyst for high-performance photocatalytic degradation
AU - Alireza Ziaei-Abiz
AU - S. A. Hassanzadeh-Tabrizi
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/07/01
JO - Scientific Reports
DO - 10.1038/s41598-026-63391-5
UR - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-63391-5
AB - In the present study, the synthesis of nickel ferrite nanoparticles immobilized on mesoporous TiO2 was investigated to produce an efficient photocatalyst. For this aim, nickel ferrite nanoparticles were synthesized via a citrate-nitrate method, and then a modified surfactant-assisted procedure was employed to immobilize nanostructured NiFe2O4 on mesoporous TiO2. In order to study the photocatalytic properties of the samples, the photodegradation of methyl orange under solar simulated irradiation was examined. The fabricated samples were assessed using SEM, TEM, XRD, BET, and UV-DRS. For indirect transitions, the energy band gap values were determined to be 3.22 eV for mesoporous TiO2 and 3.15 eV for the NiFe2O4/TiO2 sample. Immobilization of nanostructured NiFe2O4 on mesoporous TiO2 caused an anisotropic lattice distortion in the titania structure. The kinetic constant for methyl orange photodegradation by TiO2/30wt.%NiFe2O4 reached 0.0153 min− 1 under solar simulated irradiation, which was 4.6 times greater than that of pure NiFe2O4, 3.1 times that of mesoporous TiO2, and 2.5 times that of TiO2/20wt.%NiFe2O4. The possible photodegradation mechanism of the synthesized nanocomposite was proposed. The demonstrated recyclability of these composites highlights their potential as sustainable materials for high-efficiency wastewater treatment.
SN - 2045-2322
ER -