Photo-catalyst Fe–Pt nanocomposite: mechanical preparation of iron nanoparticles and simple synthesis of platinum nanoparticles

Abstract

Firstly iron nanoparticles were synthesized via a simple mechanical ball-milling method from bulk iron micro powders. Then mono-disperse platinum nanoparticles and Fe–Pt nanocomposites were synthesized by a facile hydrothermal procedure. The structure, phase and crystallite size of the magnetic and photo-catalyst products were characterized by X-ray diffraction pattern. The morphology and size of the nanostructures were surveyed by scanning electron microscopy. The purity of the samples was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Vibrating sample magnetometer illustrated that Fe nanoparticles have super paramagnetic behaviour. The photo catalytic behaviour of Fe–Pt nanocomposites was approved using the fast degradation of three various azo dyes under visible and ultra violet light irradiation. The results show that nanocomposites have feasible magnetic feature for easy separation and effective photo catalytic properties for purification of organic dye contaminants.