Green synthesis and characterization of cobalt aluminate nanoparticles and its photocatalyst application

Nanocrystalline cobalt aluminate (CoAl2O4) was prepared by novel sol-gel method using aluminum nitrate, copper nitrate and lactose without adding external surfactant. Moreover, lactose plays role as capping agent, reducing agent, and chelate agent in the synthesis CoAl2O4 nanoparticles. The copper aluminate nanoparticles were characterized by using XRD, SEM, FT-IR, and EDX. The samples indicated a paramagnetic behavior, as evidenced by using vibrating sample magnetometer at room temperature. To evaluate the catalytic properties of nanocrystalline cobalt aluminate, the photocatalytic degradation of methyl orange under ultraviolet light irradiation was carried out.