One-pot synthesis of Fe3O4/NiFe2O4 nanocomposite from iron rust waste as reusable catalyst for methyl violet oxidation

Abstract

In present work, one-pot preparation of Fe3O4/NiFe2O4 nanocomposite catalyst was investigated using iron rust waste as precursor. The synthesis was performed by coprecipitation followed by hydrothermal method using iron rust waste as iron precursor, and NiCl3 as nickel precursor. The catalytic properties of material were tested on methyl violet catalytic oxidation. The results from x-ray diffraction, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and scanning electron spectroscopy confirmed the formation of Fe3O4/NiFe2O4 without any other impurities. Particle size analysis using and transmission electron microscopy revealed that the use of iron rust waste gave the smaller particle's size of the nanocomposite compared to the use of Fe(III) precursor. The sample expressed the smaller saturation magnetization, but higher specific surface area and porosity are supporting feature to increase the catalytic activity in methyl violet oxidation. The optimum degradation efficiency of >95% is expressed for degradation of methyl violet (MV) with concentration range of 10–50 ppm. Reusability of the nanocomposite was demonstrated as there is insignificant change of the activity until 5th usage. The research revealed the potency of iron rust waste to be source of functional material and can be notified as a potential strategy for environmental management and application.