Facile fabrication of ternary nanocomposite of MgFe2O4[sbnd]TiO2@GO for synergistic adsorption and photocatalytic degradation studies

Abstract

Ternary nanocomposite of MgFe2O4 and TiO2 nanoparticles (NPs) anchored on graphene oxide (MgFe2O4 TiO2NPs@GO) was synthesized by facile ultrasonication method. Formation of the nanocomposite was confirmed by XRD and FT-IR studies. SEM-EDX and TEM clearly depicted the loading of the GO nanosheets with MgFe2O4 and TiO2 NPs. BET studies confirmed greater surface area of the nanocomposite as compared to pristine NPs and GO. Nanosheets of GO prevented the agglomeration of NPs. The band gap for nanocomposite (2.27eV) was lower than TiO2 and MgFe2O4 NPs. Synergistic adsorption and photodegradation potential of the nanocomposite was studied using methylene blue as a model compound. Batch process was employed for these studies and the results were compared with pristine GO,TiO2 and MgFe2O4 NPs. Adsorption data was best fitted into Langmuir isotherm model and followed the pseudo-second-order kinetics. Ternary nanocomposite displayed excellent synergistic adsorption and photocatalytic properties under both UV and visible light irradiation. Degradation products were analyzed by mass spectrometric analysis. Ternary MgFe2O4 TiO2NPs@GO nanocomposite holds immense potential in the field of synergistic adsorption and degradation of organic contaminants.