Recent Advances on Zinc Ferrite and Its Derivatives as the Forerunner of the Nanomaterials in Catalytic Applications

Modern catalysis research, particularly in the field of organic synthesis, gives significant importance to the recovery and recycling of catalysts. Magnetic separation is now a reliable, extremely effective, simple, and quick separation method for chemicals and catalysts, compared to traditional separation. Recently, zinc ferrite (ZnFe2O4) magnetic nanoparticles have attracted the attention of the scientific community due to their unique properties in different interdisciplinary areas. Among the different applications, the use of these materials as heterogeneous catalysts in a variety of organic transformations is one of the major research areas. Based on their potential for recuperation and recyclability, zinc ferrite nanocatalysts show a renewed interest in catalysis research, with a focus on exploring their performance in a range of organic processes. The current study highlighted the synthesis, characterization, and application of zinc ferrite nanocatalysts and their nanocomposites in the formation of heterocyclic compounds, dehydrogenation, oxidation, alkylation, C–C coupling, mitigation of pollutants (dyes, nitro molecules, and antibiotics) with the available literature in the last decade.