ADVANCED SPINEL FERRITE NANOPARTICLES FOR SUSTAINABLE WASTEWATER TREATMENT: A COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW ON SYNTHESIS, CATION DISTRIBUTION, AND MECHANISM-DRIVEN PERFORMANCE

Abstract

Spinel ferrites have emerged as one of the most versatile multifunctional magnetic oxides owing to their tunable electronic structure, excellent chemical stability, and magnetic separability. Ferrites have attracted increasing attention for environmental remediation owing to their excellent magnetic recoverability, tunable electronic structures, and remarkable catalytic activity because of their high resistance and saturation magnetization. Enhancing ferrite characteristics by different synthesis methods and doping has been the focus of recent research, increasing its uses in environmental remediation and sustainable energy. The synthesis, characterisation, and uses of nanosized ferrites are covered in this work. This review systematically compares the major synthesis routes including sol–gel, hydrothermal, co-precipitation, combustion, biosynthesis, and microwave-assisted methods with emphasis on their effects on structural and catalytic properties. The diverse applications of ferrites in microwave devices, communications, dielectric applications, water detoxification, biomedical areas, sensors, catalysis, photoluminescence, data storage, and environmental remediation are also described. The performance of ferrite nanoparticles is strongly governed by band gap tuning and Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) generation. Additionally, adsorption capacity and photocatalytic efficiency are influenced by particle size and surface functionalization.