Recent Developments on Magnetically Separable Ferrite-Based Nanomaterials for Removal of Environmental Pollutants

Abstract

The current water supply situation demonstrates the predominance of contamination caused by industrial effluent runoff. Polluted waters have contributed to significant health and environmental risks, calling for an acceptable alternative to address the effects. However, diverse chemical and treatment physical stages commonly used for dye effluent processing are more cost-intensive, less effective, and time-consuming. Instead, nanomaterials have developed as a good alternative for dye removal and degradation because of their special chemical reactivity and superior surface features/properties. In this regard, the ability of modified or hybrid ferrite-based magnetically recoverable nanomaterials in dye effluent treatment has been extensively explored. The present study especially emphasizes magnetic ferrite (Fe₃O₄+X) or metal-doped ferrite (MFe₂O₄+X) nanocomposite for dye degradation (where M consists of Co, Cu, Zn, Mg, Mn, Ni, etc., and X consists of reduced graphene oxide, graphene oxide, metal, or metal oxide). Several dye degradation efficiencies of various ferrite and metal ferrite nanomaterial were discussed. Degradation is carried out using direct sunlight, and various lamps (e.g., visible light/UV-C lamp/halogen lamp/Mercury-Xenon lamp/UV lamp with UV filter for visible light) are used as a source. This review article covers the degradation of various dyes from wastewater using ferrite-based nanomaterial as an efficient catalyst and making water pollution free.