Abstract
A facile approach has been devised for the preparation of magnetic NiFe2O4 photocatalyst (NiFe2O4-NG) supported on nitrogen doped graphene (NG). The NiFe2O4-NG composite was synthesized by one step hydrothermal method. The nanocomposite catalyst was characterized by Powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy (UV-Vis) and Vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM). It is found that the combination of NiFe2O4 nanoparticles with nitrogen-doped graphene sheets converts NiFe2O4 into a good catalyst for methylene blue (MB) dye degradation by irradiation of visible light. The catalytic activity under visible light irradiation is assigned to extensive movement of photogenerated electron from NiFe2O4 to the conduction band of the reduced NG, effectively blocking direct recombination of electrons and holes. The NiFe2O4 nanoparticles alone have efficient magnetic property, so can be used for magnetic separation in the solution without additional magnetic support.
Highlights
Photocatalysis especially by TiO2 has been widely used for the purification of waste water
We report the development of one step method to design magnetically separable nitrogen doped graphene-based photocatalyst having excellent catalytic activity
The Powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) pattern of graphene oxide (GO) exhibits a characteristic (002) peak of graphite emerging at 24.2°
Summary
Photocatalysis especially by TiO2 has been widely used for the purification of waste water. Ticles possess band gap of 2.19 eV and have displayed enhanced photocatalytic activity as compared to TiO2 for degradation of Rhodamine B dye in aqueous solution under visible light irradiation.[32] Pure nickel ferrite is photo-catalytically inactive but its composite with another semiconductor (e.g., graphene sheets) can find an effective mechanism for separation of charges leading to increased photocatalytic performance One such example is ZnFe2O4-graphene photocatalyst and its great performance in the photocatalytic degradation of MB under visible light irradiation.[33] Carbon material doped with a heteroatom, such as B, N or S, can increase the pseudo capacitance by manipulating its electronic properties and chemical reactivity leading to increased performance of doped grapheme.[34,35,36,37] Nitrogen-doped graphene (NG) has great utility because of its higher specific capacitance matched to the pristine graphene and good durability, enabling its use as electrode materials for supercapacitors and applications in photocatalysis.[38]. NiFe2O4 nanoparticles themselves have a magnetic property, which makes the NiFe2O4–NG composite magnetically separable in liquid medium
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