Graphene-decorated magnetic cobalt ferrite for effective UV-accelerated photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue: experimental and theoretical insights by DFT

Graphitic carbon-based nanocomposites have drawn considerable attention in nanoscience due to their intriguing property and biocompatible behavior. This study enumerates the structural, optical, and magnetically dependent applications of pure and graphene oxide (GO)-modified CoFe₂O₄ spinel nanoferrites across diverse domains via experimental (sol-gel combustion) and theoretical insights (Density Functional Theory (DFT) simulations). The structural analysis suggests an inverse spinel structure with an average crystalline size of 27.78 and 40.25 nm for dual nanoferrites (CoFe₂O₄ and CoFe₂O₄:GO), respectively. Further, O²⁻ coordination to binary interstices (tetrahedral and octahedral) increases the specific surface area (SSA) for active charge transfer and photocatalytic activity. The observed degradation result exhibits that the CoFe₂O₄:GO nanocomposites show a higher efficiency of 87.74% compared with pure CoFe₂O₄ nano ferrites (53.10%). In addition, the vibrating sample magnetometer shows good magnetic behavior for pure CoFe₂O₄ nanoferrites than CoFe₂O₄/graphene oxide nanocomposites with the maximum saturation magnetization value of 63.74 and 56.60 emu/g, respectively. Hence, the results suggest that CoFe₂O₄:GO nanocomposite is more highly suitable for wastewater treatment applications due to its higher efficiency rate of degradation.