A novel CeO2/CuO-supported Fe3O4 sonocatalyst nanoparticle for highly efficient degradation of methylene blue dye

Abstract

In this study, Fe3O4-CeO2/CuO nanocatalysts were successfully synthesized, characterized with advanced analysis techniques, and their catalytic performance on MB dye degradation was investigated with a series of experimental parameters. The characterizations of SEM, TEM, and XRD analyses were applied to reveal the physicochemical structure of the Fe3O4-CeO2/CuO hybrid sonocatalyst. TEM analyses showed that Fe3O4-CeO2/CuO hybrid sonocatalyst was found to be quite homogeneous and its average particle size was 2.9 nm. The crystallinity, surface and content analysis of the Fe3O4-CeO2/CuO hybrid catalyst was clarified by XRD, and SEM-EDS analyses. GC-MS analysis was performed to detect the by-products constituted after the dye degradation using Fe3O4-CeO2/CuO hybrid catalyst. The degradation experimental results revealed that hydroxyl radicals (•OH) produced were proved to be effective species in the degradation process due to the presence of Fe3O4-CeO2/CuO hybrid catalyst. The MB degradation reached 93 % in 120 min under common conditions of 4.5 pH, 2 mM H2O2 concentration, 1.0 mg/L catalyst concentration, and 20 mg.L-1 dye concentration. To test the effectiveness of the Fe3O4-CeO2/CuO hybrid catalyst, many trials with, without a catalyst and using different scavengers were carried out. The scavenger experiment results revealed that the hydroxyl radicals play a prominent role degradation of MB under ultrasonic conditions with Fe3O4/CeO2/CuO catalyst. As a result, our findings showed that Fe3O4-CeO2/CuO hybrid catalyst has great potential for treating MB in wastewater.