Sonochemical synthesis and characterization of magnetic separable Fe3O4–TiO2 nanocomposites and their catalytic properties

Abstract

A novel sonochemical method is described for the preparation of Fe3O4–TiO2 photocatalysts in which nanocrystalline titanium dioxide particles are directly coated onto a magnetic core. The Fe3O4 nanoparticles were partially embedded in TiO2 agglomerates. TiO2 nanocrystallites were obtained by hydrolysis and condensation of titanium tetraisopropyl in the presence of ethanol and water under high-intensity ultrasound irradiation. This method is attractive since it eliminated the high-temperature heat treatment required in the conventional sol–gel method, which is important in transforming amorphous titanium dioxide into a photoactive crystalline phase. In comparison to other methods, the developed method is simple, mild, green and efficient. The magnetization hysteresis loop for Fe3O4–TiO2 nanocomposites indicates that the hybrid catalyst shows superparamagnetic characteristics at room temperature. Photocatalytic activity studies confirmed that the as-prepared nanocomposites have high photocatalytic ability toward the photodegradation of RhB solution. Furthermore, the photodecomposition rate decreases only slightly after six cycles of the photocatalysis experiment. Thus, these Fe3O4–TiO2 nanocomposites can be served as an effective and conveniently recyclable photocatalyst.