Synthesis, Characterization and Enhanced Photocatalytic Activity of Iron Oxide/Carbon Nanotube/Ag-doped TiO2 Nanocomposites

A novel magnetically recoverable catalyst (Fe/MWCNT/TiO 2 -Ag) was prepared in this study by a process that involves few steps.Titanium dioxide doped with silver and iron oxide was deposited on support of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT).The synthesized catalysts were characterized by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), N 2 adsorption/desorption, X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectrometry (EDS), infrared spectroscopy (IR) and UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectra (DRS).Phenol in aqueous solution (50 mg L -1 ) was used as a model compound for evaluation of UV-Vis (filter cut off for λ > 300 nm) photocatalytic activity.The composite catalyst has a high photocatalytic activity, destroying ca.100% of phenol and removing 85% of total organic carbon in an aqueous solution after 180 min.The Fe/MWCNT/TiO 2 -Ag catalyst remained stable, presenting an 8% decrease in phenol degradation efficiency after ten consecutive photocatalytic cycles.