Vol 7, No 3 (2016) > Metalurgy and Material Engineering >

Synthesis, Characterization, and Photocatalytic Activity of Fe3O4@Zno Nanocomposite

Didin Sahidin Winatapura, Sari Hasnah Dewi, Wisnu Ari Adi

 

Abstract: A magnetic Fe3O4@ZnO
nanocomposite (NC) was successfully synthesized by a wet milling method using a high energy milling
(HEM) machine. The magnetic Fe3O4@ZnO NC was characterized by an X-ray Diffractometer (XRD), scanning and transmission
electron microscopes (SEM
and TEM), and a vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). X-ray diffraction results show that Fe3O4@ZnO NC consisted of ZnO
and Fe3O4 phases. The microstructure analysis indicated
that Fe3O4@ZnO NC presented a ZnO shell wrapped around
the surface of a magnetic Fe3O4 surface. The average diameter of the aggregated Fe3O4 nanoparticle
(NP) is 20 nm, while that of Fe3O4@ZnO NCs is
nearly 30 nm. The  Fe3O4 NP and Fe3O4@ZnO
NC show typical superparamagnetic
behavior with low coercivity. The saturation magnetization (Ms) of Fe3O4 NP was measured at about 66.26emu.g-1 and then declined to 34.79emu.g-1 after being encapsulated with a ZnO shell.  The photoactivities of the Fe3O4@ZnO NC under
UV irradiation were quantified by the degradation of a methylene blue (MB) dye
solution. The result reveals that the
photodegradation efficiency of Fe3O4@ZnO NC is favorable at pH neutral (pH = 7) reaching 100%. By increasing the MB dye
concentration from 10 ppm to 40 ppm, the photodegradation efficiency decreases
from 100% to 52%. The Fe3O4@ZnO NC can be easily collected by an external magnet. The
magnetic Fe3O4@ZnO
NC could be extended to various potential applications,
such as purification processes, catalysis, separation, and photodegradation.
Keywords: Fe3O4@ZnO nanocomposite; Methylene blue; Photocatalytic activity; Photodegradation; Wet milling

Full PDF Download

References


Abdollahi Y., Abdullah A.H., Zainal Z., Yusof N.A., 2012. Photocatalytic Degradation of P-Cresol by Zinc Oxide under UV Irradiation. Int. J. Mol. Sci., Volume 2012(13), pp. 302–315

Ahadpour A., Jafari A., 2013. Study of Structural and Magnetic Properties of Superparamagnetic Fe3O4–ZnO Core–Shell Nanoparticles. J Supercond Nov Magn., Volume 26 (12), pp. 1–10

Feng X., Guo H., Patel, K., Zhou, H., Lou, X., 2014. High Performance, Recovable Fe3O4-ZnO Nanoparticles for Enhanced Photocatalytic Degradation of Phenol. Chem. Eng. J., Volume 244, pp. 327–334

Joshi K.M., Shrivastava V.S., 2011. Degradation of Alizarine Red-S (A Textiles Dye) by Photocatalysis using ZnO and TiO2 as Photocatalyst. Int. J. Environ. Sci., Volume 2(1), pp. 8–21

Lee, E., Hong, J.Y., Kang, H., Jang, J., 2011. Synthesis of TiO2 Nanorod-decorated Graphene Sheets and their Highly Efficient Photocatalytic Activities under Visible-light Irradiation. J. Hazard. Mater., Volume 219–220,

pp. 13–18

Liu, X., Pan, L., Zhao, Q., Lu, T., Zh,u G., Chen, T., Sun, Z., Sun, C., 2012. UV-assisted Photocatalytic Synthesis of ZnO-reduced Graphene Oxide Composites with Enhanced Photocatalytic Activity in Reduction of Cr(VI). Chem. Eng. J., Volume 183, pp. 238–243

Mohamed, R.M., Mkhalid, I.A., Baeissa, E.S., Al-Rayyani, M.A., 2012. Photocatalytic Degradation of Methylene Blue by Fe/ZnO/SiO2 Nanoparticles under Visible Light. J. Nanotechnol., Volume 2012, pp. 1–5

Nikazar, M., Alizadeh, M., Lalavi, R., Rostami, M.H., 2014. The Optimum Conditions for Synthesis of Fe3O4/ZnO Core/Shell Magnetic Nanoparticles for Photodegradation of Phenol. Iranian J. Environ. Health Sci. Eng., Volume 12 (21), pp. 3–6

Nguyen, V.C., 2014. Bifungtional Core-shell Nanocomposite Mn-Doped ZnO/Fe3O4 for Photodegradation of Reactive Blue 198 Dye. Adv. Nat. Sci. Nanosci. Technol., Volume 5(3), pp.1–9

Safari, M.H., Rostami, M., Alizadeh, A., Alizadehbirjandi, S.A.A., Nakhli, R., Aminzadeh, 2014. Response Surface Analysis of Photocatalytic Degradation of Methyl Tert-butyl Ether by Core/Shell Fe3O4/ZnO Nanoparticles. J. Environ. Heal. Sci. Eng., Volume 12 (1), pp. 1–21

Vialli, M., 2011. Functionalization of Zinc Oxide Nanostructures. Ph.D. Thesis in Science and Technology of Materials Innovation, Universita’ degli studi di parma, pp. 43–45

Winatapura, D.S., Dewi, S.H., Ridwan, 2013. Synthesis and Characterization of Fe3O4@ZnO Composite through Precipitation Method. J. Waste Manag. Technol., Volume 17(1), pp. 71–77

Wei, Y., Han, B., Hu, X., Lin, Y., Wang, X., Deng, X., 2011. Synthesis of Fe3O4 Nanoparticles and Magnetic Properties. Procedia Engineering, Volume 27(2012), pp. 632–637

Xue, C., Zhang, Q., Li, J., Chou, X., Zhang, W., Ye, H., Cui, Z., Dobson, P.J., 2013. High Photocatalytic Activity of Fe3O4-SiO2-TiO2 Functional Particles with Core-Shell Structure. Journal of Nanomaterials, Volume 2013, pp. 1–8

Xu, M., Li, C., 2014. Monodisperse Nanostructured of Fe3O4/ZnO Microrods using for Waste Water Treatment. Adv. Powder Technol., Volume 25(6), pp. 1715–1720