CdFe2O4 AND ZnAl2O4 NANO-SPINELS: SYNTHESIS BY SOL-GEL AUTO COMBUSTION METHOD-A PERFORMANCE STUDY IN CATALYTIC WET PEROXIDE OXIDATION OF PHENOL

ZnAl2O4 and CdFe2O4 nanoparticles were synthesized by sol-gel auto combustion method and characterized by XRD, FTIR and SEM. The nanostructure of the particles were estimated by XRD through Scherer and confirmed by SEM. The synthesis method led to form the uniform particles with spinel structure. The particle size of ZnAl2O4 was smaller than that of CdFe2O4. The catalytic activity of the nano particles were evaluated in catalytic wet peroxide oxidation (CWPO) of phenol from waste water. The use of hydrogen peroxide as the oxidizing agent in the presence of a catalyst has emerged as a clean and effective alternative among other catalytic oxidation processes. The results showed the high catalytic activity of both nano-spinels in this process. ZnAl2O4 exhibited higher activity than CdFe2O4 in CWPO process. The phenol conversion was 84% and 78% over ZnAl2O4 and CdFe2O4, respectively. The study revealed that these catalysts could be promising for oxidation of other water pollutants by catalytic wet peroxide oxidation (CWPO) process.