Magnetically separable Fe3O4/mZrO2/Ag nanocomposites: Fabrication and photocatalytic activity

In this study, a facile and efficient approach was proposed for fabricating magnetically separable core-shell structured nanocomposites consisting of a magnetic Fe3O4 core, a mesoporous ZrO2 (mZrO(2)) interlayer and an outer Ag nanoparticles shell using a sol-gel process and a wet chemistry method at ambient condition, and the hydrothermal treatment. The resulting Fe3O4/mZrO(2)/Ag nanocomposites were analyzed by TEM and SEM images, XPS, EDX and XRD spectra. Their photocatalytic activity was examined for the degradation of methylene blue under UV light. The effect of initial concentration, catalyst dosage and pH value was investigated and the results were discussed. Fe3O4/mZrO(2)/Ag nanocomposites showed higher photocatalytic activity, compared with Fe3O4/mZrO(2) composites. The PL analysis revealed Fe3O4/mZrO(2) composites possessed the enhanced separation efficiency of electron-hole pairs in comparison withFe(3)O(4)/mZrO(2). Moreover, the Fe3O4/mZrO(2)/Ag nano composites can be easily separated and recycled with an external magnetic field, and so they present remarkable reusability.

Automated summary

In this study, a facile and efficient approach was developed to fabricate magnetically separable core-shell structured nanocomposites. The Fe3O4/mZrO(2)/Ag nanocomposites exhibited higher photocatalytic activity compared to Fe3O4/mZrO(2) composites, and showed remarkable reusability due to their easy separation and recycling with an external magnetic field.