Microstructural investigation of sonochemically synthesized Zn substituted CuFe2O4 nanoparticles for heterogeneous green catalytic click chemistry and dye degradation

• Published in: Journal of molecular structure Vol. 1274; p. 134493
• Main Authors: Sarkar, Bhaskar Jyoti, Kundu, Mousumi, Mondal, Bibhas, Mukherjee, Sunil, Bandyopadhyay, Atul, Roy, Ujjal Kanti
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 15.02.2023
• Subjects: Catalytic properties; Chemical preparation; Ferrite; Magnetic properties; Optical properties; Catalytic properties; Ferrite; Chemical preparation; Optical properties; Magnetic properties
• ISSN: 0022-2860; 1872-8014
• DOI: 10.1016/j.molstruc.2022.134493

•The microstructural characterization, optical and magnetic properties of sonochemically synthesized zn substituted CuFe2O4 nanoparticles (NPs) are investigated and compared with the unsubstituted CuFe2O4.•Zn substituted CuFe2O4 magnetic NPs has been used as photocatalyst for the photo degradation of organic dyes under visible light irradiation.•These Zn substituted CuFe2O4 magnetic NPs are used as a heterogeneous catalyst for three-component Huisgen 1,3-dipolar CuAAC green catalytic click reactions in aqueous media. Its catalytic reactivity has been compared with CuFe2O4 NPs.•The Heterogeneity, reproducibility and reusability of the catalyst has been also tested successfully up to several cycles without significant decrease in the product yield. Heterogeneous green catalysis by means of magnetically separable nanometal–oxide catalysts is an attractive field of present day research. The microstructural characterization, optical and magnetic properties of sonochemically synthesized Zn substituted CuFe2O4 (CZF) nanoparticles (NPs) are investigated and compared with the unsubstituted CuFe2O4. PXRD (powder X-ray diffraction) pattern and HRTEM (high-resolution transmisson electron microscopy) observation with FTIR (Fourier transform infrared) spectroscopy are applied to analyze the microstructural and optical properties of nanosized (∼14.7 nm) zinc substituted copper ferrite. Rietveld refinement of the PXRD pattern reveals the mixed spinel structure of zinc substituted copper ferrite NPs. Magnetic data confirms the presence of ferromagnetic/ferrimagnetic phase with some admixture of finer superparamagnetic (SPM) nanophases within the sample. The lack of saturation in the M-H loops is due to the presence of spin-canting as well as SPM NPs in the system. These coupled Zn substituted CuFe2O4 magnetic NPs are used as a heterogeneous catalyst for three-component Huisgen 1,3-dipolar CuAAC green catalytic click reactions in aqueous media and dye degradation. Its catalytic reactivity has been compared with CuFe2O4 NPs. By this synthesized magnetic catalytic CZF NPs, we have successfully coupled alkyl halides and boronic acids with terminal alkynes to obtain 1,4-disubstituted 1,2,3-triazoles in good to excellent yields within a short time. The Heterogeneity, reproducibility and reusability of the catalyst has been also tested successfully up to several cycles without significant decrease in the product yield. We have explored CZF NPs as magnetically separable heterogeneous green catalyst for multi-component click reaction. Our synthesized CZF NPs has been used as photocatalyst for the photo degradation of organic dyes under visible light irradiation. The results demonstrate that the unique features of the CZF NPs make it an excellent material for a click chemistry catalyst as well as a highly active photocatalyst under visible light irradiation.