Synthesis of single-phase superparamagnetic copper ferrite nanoparticles using an optimized coprecipitation method

Single-phase superparamagnetic copper ferrite (CF) nanoparticles with high surface area and low bandgap energy are vital for industrial application in water treatment as a photocatalyst. In this study, different synthesis parameters such as pH, reaction time, temperature, and surfactant were optimized for the co-precipitation method. The influences of each parameter on the porosity, structural, and magnetic properties were evaluated. The highest observed saturation magnetization was 46.1 and 63.3 emu/g at 300 and 50 K for the CF nanoparticles synthesized under the optimized condition and calcined at 850 °C, respectively. The highest observed surface area was 247.6 m2/g for uncalcined CF. All CFs synthesized under optimized conditions exhibited superparamagnetic behavior at room temperature and have small bandgap energy (1.50–1.60 eV), making them easy to separate from treated water using an external magnetic field and a potential candidate for visible light absorption in photocatalysis applications, respectively. Finally, this study identified the conditions required for synthesizing either cubic or tetragonal single-phase CF.