| Summary: | Cobalt oxide, a multifunctional, anti-ferromagnetic p-type semiconductor with an optical bandgap of ~2.00 eV, exhibits remarkable catalytic, chemical, optical, magnetic, and electrical properties. In our study, cobalt oxide nanoparticles (Co<sub>3</sub>O<sub>4</sub> NPs) were prepared by the green synthesis method using dried fruit extracts of <i>Hyphaene thebaica</i> (doum palm) as a cost-effective reducing and stabilizing agent. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) depicts stable hollow spherical entities which, consist of interconnected Co<sub>3</sub>O<sub>4</sub> NPs, while energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) indicates the presence of Co and O. The obtained product was identified by X-ray diffraction (XRD) that showed a sharp peak at (220), (311), (222), (400), (511) indicating the high crystallinity of the product. The Raman peaks indicate the Co<sub>3</sub>O<sub>4</sub> spinel structure with an average shift of Δν~9 cm<sup>−1</sup> (191~470~510~608~675 cm<sup>−1</sup>). In the Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) spectrum, the major bands at 3128 cm<sup>−1</sup>, 1624 cm<sup>−1</sup>, 1399 cm<sup>−1</sup>, 667 cm<sup>−1</sup>, and 577 cm<sup>−1</sup> can be attributed to the carbonyl functional groups, amides, and Co<sub>3</sub>O<sub>4</sub> NPs, respectively. The photocatalytic activity of the synthesized NPs was evaluated by degrading methylene blue dye under visible light. Approximately 93% degradation was accomplished in the reaction time of 175 min at a catalyst loading of 1 g/L under neutral pH. This study has shown that Co<sub>3</sub>O<sub>4</sub> is a promising material for photocatalytic degradation.
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