Metal organic framework derived magnetically recoverable CuFe₂O₄ porous cubes for efficient photocatalytic application

The synthesis of metal oxides from MOFs has taken centre stage in the recent years due to its excellent structural behaviour. Many MOF derived metal oxides such as ZnO, Co₃O₄, NiO, Mn₂O₃, CeO₂, CuO, Fe₂O₃ and CuO etc., has been successfully synthesized using MOFs templates. In our work, we have adopted the MOF assisted method to prepare magnetic CuFe₂O₄ using the Fe containing-Prussian blue MOF cubes. The synthesized material has been systematically characterized to evaluate the structural properties by X-ray diffraction studies (XRD), morphological properties by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM) and optical properties using UV–vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (UV–vis DRS). The evaluation of the photocatalytic activity of synthesized CuFe₂O₄ cubes was determined by the degradation of harmful rhodamine -B (RhB) dye as a target pollutant. The degradation efficiency of the CuFe₂O₄ cubes reached 90% after 200 min of visible light irradiation. The CuFe₂O₄ cubes have been recovered using an external magnet after the degradation process for further use. This work provides an insight for synthesis of magnetic binary metal oxides through MOF for environmental remediation.