A novel dual-responsive bio-derived magnetic nanocomposite: An excellent catalyst for efficient photodegradation of contaminants and detection of food additive in wastewater

Industrial development has been a global issue due to massive disposal of pollutants in water bodies. Considering this, many researchers adopt photocatalysis as an efficient technology for coordinated abatement of pollutants from wastewater. However, designing of materials that grant dual applicability in removal as well as detection of pollutant is still a challenge. Thus, demonstrated herein were bio-derived bi-functional hybrid magnetic nanocomposites that presented high photocatalytic degradation and electrochemical detection of noxious contaminants in wastewater. Magnetic nickel ferrite (NF) nanoparticles were organized on bio-derived template constructed from carboxylated cellulose (CCL) and carboxylated graphene oxide (CGO) via facile hydrothermal treatment to fabricate CCL-CGO-NF nanocomposites which were validated through various characterization techniques such as FT-IR, Powder XRD, FE-SEM, HR-TEM, EDX, XPS and VSM studies. The photocatalytic activity was investigated for degradation of three virulent model contaminants: Fast green (FG), Levofloxacin (LV) and p-Nitrophenol (PNP). Results displayed higher degradation efficiency of CCL-CGO-NFx nanocomposites than pure NF with highest degradation of 98%, 75% and 94% for FG, LV and PNP, respectively using CCL-CGO-NF70. Moreover, CCL-CGO-NF70 was employed for electrochemical sensing of FG that exhibited low detection limit of 1 μM in concentration range of 5–1200 μM. The nanocomposite established good stability, repeatability, reproducibility and sensitivity in real samples that certifies its dual practical applicability in environment detoxification as a photocatalyst and an electrochemical sensor. Finally, social implications and future perspectives concerning this proposed method was discussed.