Abstract:
The scope of this investigation is the photocatalytic degradation performance of newly synthesized
nanoparticles(NPs); namely; Fe3O4; Fe3O4@TiO2 and Fe3O4@SiO2. Non-thermal synthesis methods
are used to synthesize the NPs and to explore the ferromagnetic properties of the photocatalysts. The
synthesized NPs are characterized using TEM, XRD, FTIR, TGA, VSM, and surface area analysis
techniques. The photocatalytic activities of Fe3O4 and Fe3O4@SiO2 NPs, put under solar irradiation,
and Fe3O4@TiO2 NPs, put under UV irradiation, are examined. The efficiency in degradation of
Methylene Blue (MB) pollutant is shown to be the best for Fe3O4@SiO2 NPs, then in Fe3O4 NPs, and
lastly in Fe3O4@TiO2 NPs. The silica (SiO2) coating on Fe3O4 NPs significantly enhances the light
absorption and is found to improve the MB degradation rate and the photoinduced charge generation
and separation (i.e. it enhances the exciton lifetime). That makes the Fe3O4@SiO2 NPs promising
candidates for organic pollutants removal in various environment-related applications.