Photocatalytic removal of methylene blue using titania- and silica-coated magnetic nanoparticles

The scope of this investigation is the photocatalytic degradation performance of newly synthesized nanoparticles (NPs); namely; Fe 3 O 4 ; Fe 3 O 4 @TiO 2 and Fe 3 O 4 @SiO 2 . Non-thermal synthesis methods are used to synthesize the NPs and to explore the ferromagnetic properties of the photocatalysts. The synthesized NPs are characterized using TEM, XRD, FTIR, TGA, VSM, and surface area analysis techniques. The photocatalytic activities of Fe 3 O 4 and Fe 3 O 4 @SiO 2 NPs, put under solar irradiation, and Fe 3 O 4 @TiO 2 NPs, put under UV irradiation, are examined. The efficiency in degradation of Methylene Blue (MB) pollutant is shown to be the best for Fe 3 O 4 @SiO 2 NPs, then in Fe 3 O 4 NPs, and lastly in Fe 3 O 4 @TiO 2 NPs. The silica (SiO 2 ) coating on Fe 3 O 4 NPs significantly enhances the light absorption and is found to improve the MB degradation rate and the photoinduced charge generation and separation (i.e. it enhances the exciton lifetime). That makes the Fe 3 O 4 @SiO 2 NPs promising candidates for organic pollutants removal in various environment-related applications.