SYNTHESIS AND CHARACTERIZATION OF TERNARY NiO-Fe2O3-CuO NANOCOMPOSITE FOR PHOTOCATALYTIC DEGRADATION OF METHYLENE BLUE

La Ode Asmin (Study Program Physics Education, Faculty of Education and Teacher Training, Institut Agama Islam Negeri (IAIN) Kendari)
La Isa (Study Program Physics Education, Faculty of Education and Teacher Training, Institut Agama Islam Negeri (IAIN) Kendari)
Burhan Burhan (Study Program Physics Education, Faculty of Education and Teacher Training, Institut Agama Islam Negeri (IAIN) Kendari)

AL-ULUM: JURNAL SAINS DAN TEKNOLOGI
Vol 12 No 2 (2026)

In this study, co-precipitation method was employed to successfully synthesize a ternary NiO-Fe2O3-CuO nanocomposite, which was then utilized for the photocatalytic degradation of the methylene blue dye. The XRD confirmed the presence of the NiO, Fe2O3, and CuO phases, with an average crystallite size are 17.18 nm, 22.29 nm, and 27.46 nm respectively. The SEM images confirmed the shape of the NiO-Fe2O3-CuO nanocomposite, which were found to be irregular spherical agglomerated structures. The EDX spectra showed strong peaks of Ni, Fe, and Cu. The NiO-Fe2O3-CuO nanocomposite has a band gap of 2.92 eV. The photocatalytic activity of the NiO-Fe2O3-CuO nanocomposite against the methylene blue dye exhibited high degradation efficiency, reaching 98.56% within 60 minutes. Based on the results, the prepared nanocomposites showed potential as a photocatalyst for wastewater treatment.