Adsorption and photocatalytic degradation activities of a hybrid magnetic mesoporous composite of α-Fe2O3 nanoparticles embedded with sheets-like MgO

Abstract

Crystal violet (CV), identified as a potential carcinogen, is a synthetic dye prevalent in wastewater from textile and paint industries. Therefore, the current study demonstrates that the hybrid composite of mesoporous magnetic α-Fe2O3 nanoparticles @ sheet-like MgO (Fe2O3@MgO) can be employed as a potential effective sorbent and photocatalyst for CV-removal from polluted water. A comparative study was systematically performed on the CV-removal using MgO and Fe2O3@MgO composite. The physicochemical, textural, and structural properties, morphological features, and elemental composition of mesoporous Fe2O3@MgO composite were intensively investigated. Batch trials were performed to optimize the sorption conditions. The highest CV-uptake efficiency was detected at pH 9 within the adsorption equilibrium time of about 30 min, where the maximum capacity of Fe2O3@MgO was 50.8 mg/g. Under UV irradiation, the Fe2O3@MgO photocatalyst exhibited a high efficiency and fast response toward CV-removal. The mechanism of CV removal was researched through zeta potential (ZP), bandgap, and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The outcome demonstrated that mesoporous Fe2O3@MgO sorbent/photocatalyst could be recycled and reused ten times, making it a cost-effective solution for removing CV-dye from wastewater. This manuscript suggested that mesoporous Fe2O3@MgO composite is an efficient adsorbent/photocatalyst for fast, affordable, and efficient decontamination of CV-dye from wastewater.