Preparation and Characterization of Magnetic Copper Ferrite CuFe2o4 Nanoparticles as Reusable Nanocatalyst

Among the crystalline nano materials, synthesis of magnetic nano particles have been explored for numerous applications, such as catalysts for water splitting, nanomedicine, and as matrices for matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization analysis. In this study, magnetic copper ferrite CuFe2O4 nanoparticles were synthesized through chemical coprecipitation method and their structure characterized by x-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The tetragonal structure of crystalline nanoparticles were confirmed by x-ray diffraction. The FTIR spectra of the samples revealed the vibration bands of Cu–O and Fe–O at 457 and 577 nm respectively. The morphology of the samples were detected by SEM analysis, which confirmed that all the synthesized samples are ordered and uniform with average diameter of 50 nm in size which is close to the particle size measured using Debye-Scherre equation with XRD data. One of the advantages of these nanoparticles as nanocatalyst, the magnetic particles could be concentrated on one side easily when a magnet was closely placed outside which facilitated the separation and reutilization of the nanocatalyst.