Highly efficient and selective degradation of methylene blue from mixed aqueous solution by using monodisperse CuFe2O4 nanoparticles

Abstract

It is still difficult to selectively remove the harmful pollutants from complicated wastewaters in the presence of other less-harmful pollutants. Methylene blue (MB) is a worldwide water contaminant that is currently without an effective and selective agent to detect and degrade it. We present herein the design and synthesis of a monodisperse CuFe₂O₄ nanocatalyst for selective and rapid degradation of methylene blue (MB). In the presence of other pollutants such as methylene orange (MO), rhodamine B (RB) and rhodamine 6G (R6G), MB was still rapidly degraded. The catalyst could be easily separated and recycled without significant loss of catalytic activity after being used 10 times. The CuFe₂O₄ nanoparticles (NPs) could be a promising catalyst for selective degradation of synthetic dyes from their mixture.