A magnetically recoverable CaTiO 3 /reduced graphene oxide/NiFe 2 O 4 nanocomposite for the dye degradation under simulated sunlight irradiation

Abstract

In this work, ternary CaTiO 3 /reduced graphene oxide (rGO)/NiFe 2 O 4 nanocomposite was successfully prepared using polyacrylamide gel route followed by hydrothermal method. It is observed that NiFe 2 O 4 and CaTiO 3 nanoparticles are assembled on the surface of rGO. Furthermore, the formation of chemical bonding between the nanoparticles and rGO is confirmed. The photocatalytic activities of the samples were evaluated through the degradation of methylene blue and rhodamine B under the simulated sunlight irradiation. The results indicate that the ternary nanocomposite exhibits remarkable enhanced photocatalytic activity compared with bare CaTiO 3 and NiFe 2 O 4 . In this nanocomposite, the photogenerated electrons of CaTiO 3 and NiFe 2 O 4 can be captured by rGO, leading to an increased separation and availability of electrons and holes for the photocatalytic reaction. Moreover, this nanocomposite exhibits obvious ferromagnetism and can be readily recovered by external magnetic field. The recycling photocatalytic experiment demonstrates that the nanocomposite possesses good photocatalytic reusability.