Visible-light active and magnetically recyclable ag-coated fe3o4/tio2 nanocomposites for efficient photocatalytic oxidation of 2,4-dichlorophenol

Abstract

Fe3O4/TiO2/Ag nanocomposites with different amounts of silver were prepared using the sol–gel method. X-ray diffraction, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, field-emission scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, Brunauer–Emmett– Teller surface areas, and the vibration sample magnetometry were used to characterize these nanocomposites. Photocatalytic activity of the nanocomposites was examined via decomposing the solution of 2,4-dichlorophenol (2,4-DCP) exposed to UV/Vis irradiation. Exposing the solution to pure TiO2 and ternary Fe3O4/TiO2/Ag nanocomposite, we obtained 30% and almost 60% degradation of 2,4-DCP after 180 min irradiation, respectively. The excellent photocatalytic activity of Fe3O4/TiO2/Ag samples can be related to the surface plasmon resonance effect of Ag nanoparticles deposited on Fe3O4/TiO2 nanocomposite. The Fe3O4/TiO2/Ag nanocomposites were retrieved from the solution of reaction through a constant magnetic bar, followed by assessing their photocatalytic activity after three repetitive recycling cycles. Afterward, this nanocomposite might be applied as an efficient and reusable photocatalyst.