Green synthesis of cobalt ferrite using grape extract: the impact of cation distribution and inversion degree on the catalytic activity in the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide

Cobalt ferrite nanoparticles were obtained by the green synthesis method using extracts of grape peel and grape pulp. The obtained samples have been investigated by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, scanning electron microscope (SEM), and Mossbauer spectroscopy. All samples contain pure CoFe2O4 with the cubic spinel structure of the space group Fd3m. XRD analysis indicates that cobalt ferrite nanoparticles synthesized using grape peel extract and grape pulp extract have crystallite sizes of ~ 5 and ~ 25 nm, respectively. Cation distribution and crystalline structure parameters of the samples were calculated on the basis of Mossbauer spectroscopy data. After annealing, the CoFe2O4 sample obtained with grape pulp extract has a higher degree of inversion than that obtained with grape peel extract. The decrease in the degree of inversion is related to a decrease in the average size of crystallites. The CoFe2O4 sample synthesized using grape peel extract is a more active catalyst for the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide. The first-order rate constants are 1.11·10−4 s−1 and 3.43·10−4 s−1 for the CoFe2O4-pulp and CoFe2O4-peel samples, respectively. A 100 mM H2O2 solution was decomposed to 97.4%. The surface morphology of the cobalt ferrites remains unchanged after the catalytic decomposition of H2O2. The synthesized cobalt ferrites can be used in Fenton processes as stable magnetic catalysts.