Photocatalytic and antimicrobial activities of zinc ferrite nanoparticles synthesized through soft chemical route: A magnetically recyclable catalyst for water/wastewater treatment

•Magnetic nanoparticles of zinc ferrite are synthesized through soft chemical route.•Magnetic property studies highlighted soft magnetic nature of the material.•Both pristine & calcined zinc ferrite showed good photocatalytic activity.•The catalyst retained its absolute efficiency even after multiple cycles of reuse.•The material showed fairly good antimicrobial activity compared to streptomycin.

Magnetic nanoparticles of zinc ferrite were synthesized through soft chemical route. The microstructural properties of the synthesized nanoparticles were studied using XRD, TG-DTA, SEM, HR-TEM, UV-DRS, VSM and surface area − porosity analyser. Photocatalytic activities of the pristine and calcined zinc ferrite spinel were studied for decomposition of the azo dye, Acid Blue 113, in the presence of H2O2 under direct and diffused sunlight. Synergistic effect of the zinc ferrite catalyst and H2O2 for decomposition of Acid Blue 113 was examined. The catalyst retained its absolute efficiency even after eight cycles of dye decomposition indicating a true Photocatalytic process. Antimicrobial activity of the synthesized zinc ferrite nanoparticles was tested for two gram-positive and two gram-negative bacterial strains and compared with that of the antibiotic streptomycin.

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