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Fe3O4/SiO2/TiO2 nanoparticles for photocatalytic degradation of 2-chlorophenol in simulated wastewater

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Abstract

Photocatalysis has emerged as an advance and environmental-friendly process for breakdown of organic contaminants in wastewater. This work reports facile synthesis and characterization of stable magnetic core-shell-shell Fe3O4/SiO2/TiO2 nanoparticles and their effectiveness for photocatalysis. The surface morphology, crystal structure, and chemical properties of the photocatalyst were characterized by using scanning electron microscope (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and nitrogen physisorption. Stability of synthesized nanoparticles in aqueous medium was tested by leaching test. The photocatalytic degradation of 2-chlorophenol was investigated and reaction parameters for best catalyst performance were optimized. Catalyst dose of 0.5 g/L under optimized conditions produced complete degradation of 25 mg/L 2-chlorophenol (2-CP) within 130 min of 100-W ultraviolet (UV) irradiation while 97.2 % degradation of 50 mg/L 2-CP was achieved within 3 h. The rate of photocatalytic degradation was determined by considering pseudo first-order kinetics and Hugul’s kinetic equations. The Hugul’s kinetics was found to provide a better interpretation of the experimental results than the generally adopted pseudo first-order reaction kinetics.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Meteorology and Environment, King Abdulaziz University (KAU), Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

    Jamshaid Rashid & M. A. Barakat

  2. Central Metallurgical R & D Institute, Cairo, 11421, Helwan, Egypt

    M. A. Barakat

  3. Center of Excellence in Environmental Studies (CEES), King Abdulaziz University (KAU), Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

    M. A. Barakat

  4. Department of Chemical Material Environmental Engineering, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy

    Y. Ruzmanova & A. Chianese

Authors
  1. Jamshaid Rashid
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  2. M. A. Barakat
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  3. Y. Ruzmanova
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  4. A. Chianese
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to A. Chianese.

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Responsible editor: Philippe Garrigues

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Rashid, J., Barakat, M.A., Ruzmanova, Y. et al. Fe3O4/SiO2/TiO2 nanoparticles for photocatalytic degradation of 2-chlorophenol in simulated wastewater. Environ Sci Pollut Res 22, 3149–3157 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-014-3598-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-014-3598-9

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