Photodegradation of Methylene Blue Dye in Aqueous Medium by Fe-AC/TiO2 Composite

摘要

A novel magnetic Fe-AC/TiO2 composite has been synthesized by sol-gel method. The synthesized magnetic Fe-AC/TiO2 composite was characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDAX) and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). The average crystalline size of magnetic Fe-AC/TiO2 composite was calculated by using Scherrer equation and it was found to be 10.8 nm. The magnetic Fe-AC/TiO2 composite exhibit paramagnetic property analysed by vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) at room temperature, which helps to easily separate the composite using an external magnet. The photodegradation activity of magnetic Fe-AC/TiO2 composite under UV light was studied using the aqueous solution of methylene blue dye. The effect of various parameters such as catalyst loading, pH and initial concentration of the dye on degradation of methylene blue dye in aqueous medium has been investigated. The maximum degradation of methylene blue dye concentration in aqueous medium was obtained at pH=10 and 240mg/L of magnetic Fe-AC/TiO2 composite for 10mg/L concentration of methylene blue dye. The magnetic Fe-AC/TiO2 composite was investigated for its recycle efficiency which showed an effective degradation rate of more than 85% even after 5 cycles. Finally, the results prove that photodegradation of methylene blue dye in aqueous solution using magnetic composite was very effective under UV irradiation.