Highly Photocatalytic Activity of Novel CuFe₂O₄/GO Nano Composite in the Degradation of Phenol from Aqueous Solution

摘要

The CuFe₂O₄/Graphene oxide (GO) composite was successfully synthesized by co-precipitation in “situ” using FeCl₃.6H₂O and CuCl₂.2H₂O as iron and copper sources on GO and followed by thermal reduction. The product was characterized by XRD, XPS, TEM, BET and FTIR. From the XRD and XPS results, it reveals the formation of copper ferrites spinel CuFe₂O₄ on GO surface. From TEM images, it showed that CuFe₂O₄/GO composite has particle size of 20-30 nm and uniform size distribution. The as-prepared CuFe₂O₄/GO nano composite was used to test the photocatalytic degradation of phenol from aqueous solution. After 90 minutes of reaction, the conversion (calculated according COD) reached to the value of 90%, indicating highly photocatalytic activity of this catalyst. Moreover, after three recycles, the photocatalytic activity was almost unchanged as compared to that of fresh catalyst, indicating the relatively high stability and it can be reused. Additionally, this CuFe₂O₄/GO composite showed highly magnetic property so it can be easily recovered by applying the magnetic field out side.