Meysam Sadeghi - Department of Chemistry, Lorestan University Khorramabad, Iran
Pourya Zarshenas - Faculty of Chemistry & Petroleum Sciences Shahid Beheshti University Tehran, Iran
Mohammad Mahmoudi Alemi - Department of Chemistry, University, Gorgan, Iran
Sina Yekta - Department of Chemistry, Qaemshahr Branch, Islamic Azad University, Qaemshahr, Iran

In this research, the zeolite NaY/CuFe۲O۴/CdS ternary nanocomposite as a novel magnetically separable catalyst was successfully synthesized by means of the ultrasonic-assisted solvothermal strategy. The structural, morphological and optical features of the nanocomposite were analyzed by using FESEM, EDAX, FTIR, XRD and VSM. The sonocatalytic activity of zeolite NaY/CuFe۲O۴/CdS was evaluated in the degradation of the toxic organophosphorus pesticide, namely chlorpyrifos (CP, O,O-Diethyl O-۳,۵,۶-trichloropyridin-۲-yl phosphorothioate) from water media. Several analytical parameters such as irradiation time, initial CP concentration, process type, catalyst dosage, and initial H۲O۲ concentration were investigated to achieve the maximum sonocatalytic performance. Regarding the obtained data, the NaY/CuFe۲O۴/CdS sonocatalyst was incredibly able to completely degrade the CP pesticide using the ultrasonic (US)/H۲O۲ system. The ˙OH free radicals were also recognized as the main reactive oxygen species on the sonodegradation reaction of CP under irradiation. Moreover, the recyclability of the NaY/CuFe۲O۴/CdS zeolite sonocatalyst was implemented, which clearly confirmed that it can be recycled up to sequential four times with almost trivial loss of sonocatalytic performance.

NaY/CuFe۲O۴/CdS, zeolite, nanocomposite, chlorpyrifos, degradation, Us irradiation, H۲O۲