Synthesis of Magnetic Ferrocene-Containing Polymer with Photothermal Effects for Rapid Degradation of Methylene Blue

Photothermal materials are attracting more and more attention. In this research, we synthesized a ferrocene-containing polymer with magnetism and photothermal properties. The resulting polymer was characterized by Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR), vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM), scanning electron microscope (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Its photo-thermocatalytic activity was investigated by choosing methylene blue (MB) as a model compound. The degradation percent of MB under an irradiated 808 nm laser reaches 99.5% within 15 min, and the degradation rate is 0.5517 min(-1), which is 145 times more than that of room temperature degradation. Under irradiation with simulated sunlight, the degradation rate is 0.0092 min(-1), which is approximately 2.5 times more than that of room temperature degradation. The present study may open up a feasible route to degrade organic pollutants.

Automated summary

A novel ferrocene-containing polymer with both magnetism and photothermal properties was synthesized in this study. The polymer showed high photo-thermocatalytic activity, with a degradation rate of 99.5% for methylene blue under an 808 nm laser within 15 minutes. These findings suggest a promising approach for degrading organic pollutants using this polymer.