Fe3O4@Nico-Ag magnetically recyclable nanocatalyst for azo dyes reduction

In this study, we report the successful synthesis of Fe3O4@Nico-Ag nanocomposite as magnetically recyclable nanocatalyst (MRCs) via reflux process at 80 degrees C for 5h followed by reduction of Ag+. FeCl3.6H(2)O, FeCl2.4H(2)O, AgNO3 as starting reactants and nicotinic acid as linker. The structure, morphology, thermal behaviour and magnetic properties of the product were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectrometry (EDX), thermal gravimetry (TG) and vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM), respectively. The catalytic activity of product for various azo dyes such as methylene blue (MB), methyl orange (MO), Rhodamine B (RhB) and eosin Y (EY) and their double mixtures were studied. It was found that Fe3O4@Nico-Ag MRCs is an efficient catalyst and can also rapidly separated from the reaction medium using magnet without considerable loss in its catalytic activity and used several times. Fe3O4@Nico-Ag MRCs has potential for the treatment of industrial dye pollutants. (C) 2015 Published by Elsevier B.V.