Abstract
Degradation of dye pollutants by the photocatalytic process has been regarded as the most efficient green method for removal organic dyes from contaminated water. The current research work describes the synthesis of Fe3O4@SiO2@Ru hybrid magnetic composites (HMCs) and their photocatalytic degradation of two azo dye pollutants, methyl orange (MO) and methyl red (MR), under irradiation of visible light. The synthesis of Fe3O4@SiO2@Ru HMCs involves three stages, including synthesis of Fe3O4 magnetic microspheres (MMSs), followed by silica (SiO2) coating to get Fe3O4@SiO2 MMSs, and then incorporation of presynthesized Ru nanoparticles (~3 nm) onto the surface of Fe3O4@SiO2 HMCs. The synthesized HMCs were characterized by XRD, FTIR, TEM, EDS, XPS, BET analysis, UV-DRS, PL spectroscopy, and VSM to study the physical and chemical properties. Furthermore, the narrow band gap energy of the HMC photocatalyst is a significant parameter that provides high photocatalytic properties due to the high light adsorption. The photocatalytic activity of synthesized Fe3O4@SiO2@Ru HMCs was assessed by researching their ability to degrade the aqueous solution of MO and MR dyes under visible radiation, and the influence of various functional parameters on photocatalytic degradation has also been studied. The results indicate that the photocatalytic degradation of MO and MR dyes is more than 90%, and acid media favors better degradation. The probable mechanism of photodegradation of azo dyes by Fe3O4@SiO2@Ru HMC catalysts has been proposed. Furthermore, due to the strong ferromagnetic Fe3O4 core, HMCs were easily separated from the solution after the photocatalytic degradation process for reuse. Also, the photocatalytic activity after six cycles of use is greater than 90%, suggesting the stability of the synthesized Fe3O4@SiO2@Ru HMCs.
Highlights
The increased toxicity and carcinogenicity of toxic contaminants released from industrial effluents have created significant environmental problems
The photocatalytic efficiency of the synthesized Ru-decorated magnetic composite was examined for degradation of methyl orange (MO) and methyl red (MR) azo dyes in aqueous solution under visible light irradiation by varying several working parameters without any additional reductant/oxidant
The results indicate that Fe3O4@SiO2@Ru hybrid magnetic composites (HMCs) showed excellent photocatalytic degradation of azo dyes
Summary
The increased toxicity and carcinogenicity of toxic contaminants released from industrial effluents have created significant environmental problems. Through integrating nanoparticles (NPs) of diverse components into a single object, the individual capabilities obtained from each component’s particular electrical, mechanical, optical, and catalytic properties may be merged [19, 20] As a result, these multicomponent NPs have found broad usage in a wide number of sectors [21, 22]. The transition-based nanomaterials show desirable characteristics like large surface area to volume ratio compared to the bulk, well-controlled structures, and as semiconductors with wide band gaps, nontoxicity, and high stability in aqueous solution which make them useful in catalytic applications and in a wide range of applications such as chemical sensing [33], electrochemical energy conversion and storage [34], solar cells [35], discrimination of racemic drugs [36], sustainable environmental remediation and pollutant sensing [37], and biological applications [38]. Two azo dye organic pollutants, methyl orange and methyl red, were selected for their degradation in an aqueous medium under visible light radiation to evaluate the photocatalytic performance of the prepared HMCs
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