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Magnetically recyclable visible-light-responsive MoS2@Fe3O4 photocatalysts targeting efficient wastewater treatment

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Abstract

Novel magnetically recyclable MoS2@Fe3O4 nanocomposite with remarkable photocatalytic capability was prepared by virtue of a rational hydrothermal route. The as-synthesized nanocomposites were well characterized by various spectroscopic and microscopic techniques, including X-ray powder diffraction, field-emission scanning electron microscope, transmission electron microscopy, energy-dispersive spectrometer, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, N2 adsorption–desorption isotherm (BET), ultraviolet–visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, fluorescence spectrophotometer and vibrating sample magnetometer, showing good structural, compositional, optical and magnetic properties. Photocatalytic activity was evaluated by degrading rhodamine B (RhB) and methylene blue (MB) aqueous solution under visible-light irradiation. In comparison with pure MoS2, the MoS2@Fe3O4 with 17 wt% dosage of Fe3O4 (MF-17) possessed superior photocatalytic performance. The photocatalytic degradation showed an evident dependence on the initial pH value with respect to the RhB and MB solutions, where the optimal degradation efficiency was obtained at pH 3.0 and 11.0, respectively. More importantly, magnetic MoS2@Fe3O4 hybrid can be well separated and easily recycled by an external magnetic field, still maintaining advanced activity after eight photoreaction cycles.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grants Nos. 21677047 and U1604137). The authors would also like to thank the Basic Scientific and Technological Frontier Project of Henan Province (Grant No. 162300410046), the Innovation Scientists and Technicians Troop Construction Projects of Henan Province, China, the Key Scientific and Technological Projects in Henan Province (Grant No. 132102210129), application research project of key research projects in Henan higher education (17A610010), the Research Start-up Foundation (Grant No. 5101219170107) and Youth Science Foundation (Grant No. 2015QK29) of Henan Normal University for the Ph.D., China.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Environment, Henan Normal University, Key Laboratory for Yellow River and Huai River Water Environmental and Pollution Control, Ministry of Education, Henan Key Laboratory for Environmental Pollution Control, Xinxiang, 453007, Henan, People’s Republic of China

    Qianwen Wang, Shuying Dong, Di Zhang, Chongfei Yu, Juan Lu & Jianhui Sun

  2. School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Henan Normal University, Xinxiang, 453007, Henan, People’s Republic of China

    Dong Wang

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  1. Qianwen Wang
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Correspondence to Shuying Dong or Jianhui Sun.

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Wang, Q., Dong, S., Zhang, D. et al. Magnetically recyclable visible-light-responsive MoS2@Fe3O4 photocatalysts targeting efficient wastewater treatment. J Mater Sci 53, 1135–1147 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-017-1608-2

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