Title: Magnetic Fe₃O₄-GO nanocomposites as highly efficient Fenton-like catalyst for the degradation of dyes

Authors: Yan Hong Chang; Yun Feng Yao; Hui Luo; Lei Cui; Lin Jie Zhi

Addresses: School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, China ' School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, China ' School of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, China ' School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, China ' National Center for Nanoscience and Technology, Beijing 100190, China

Abstract: In this work, a new and highly degradation efficiency Fenton-like catalyst based on Fe₃O₄ magnetic nanoparticles decorated with graphene oxide (GO) was successfully prepared and used to remove Rhodamine B (RhB) from aqueous solution. The Fe₃O₄-GO nanocomposites were characterised by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FTIR), respectively. The effects of catalyst dosage, H₂O₂ adding amount and pH on the degradation rate of RhB were also investigated. When 0.2 g/L of Fe₃O₄-GO was introduced to RhB solution (10 mg/l, 100 ml), about 95% RhB was degraded within 60 min under optimisation condition. Comparing with bare Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles, the degradation rate of Fe₃O₄-GO nanocomposites was much higher at the same reaction condition. Moreover, the Fe₃O₄-GO nanocomposites were demonstrated to have excellent reusability and could be easily separated from the aqueous solution by an external magnetic field. Therefore, the Fenton-like catalyst is potentially usable for degrading dyes in the field of environmental protection.

Keywords: Fenton-like catalyst; Fe3O4-GO nanocomposites; Rhodamine B; RhB; dye degradation; dyes; magnetic nanoparticles; graphene oxide; iron(II,III) oxide; environmental protection; nanotechnology.

DOI: 10.1504/IJNM.2014.059004

International Journal of Nanomanufacturing, 2014 Vol.10 No.1/2, pp.132 - 141

Received: 17 Dec 2012
Accepted: 06 Apr 2013
Published online: 17 May 2014 *

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