Magnetically separable reduced graphene oxide/iron oxide nanocomposite materials for environmental remediation

Abstract

Magnetically separable reduced graphene oxide/iron oxide (rGO/Fe₃O₄) nanocomposite materials were synthesized at room temperature through a facile, eco-friendly and cost-effective approach. The prepared nanocomposite materials were characterized by different techniques. X-ray diffraction analysis revealed the formation of the rGO/Fe₃O₄ nanocomposites, while transmission electron microscope images showed that the Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles with an average size of 10 nm were embedded uniformly on the surface of rGO sheets. The synthesized rGO/Fe₃O₄ nanocomposite materials were found to be super-paramagnetic in nature at room temperature. The photocatalytic performance of the rGO/Fe₃O₄ nanocomposite materials was investigated under natural sunlight irradiation using methylene blue (MB) as a model target organic pollutant. The rGO/Fe₃O₄ showed better adsorption behaviour and excellent photocatalytic activity towards the degradation of MB, when compared to other samples such as rGO and pristine Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles. This enhanced photocatalytic activity could be attributed to the synergistic effect that arises between the rGO and Fe₃O₄, which significantly reduces charge recombination. Moreover, the rGO/Fe₃O₄ nanocomposite materials exhibited good sustainability, which was evidenced by their consistent photocatalytic performance and the absence of any observable changes in morphology, even after eight cycles of operation during photocatalytic experiments. The overall results of the study indicate that these newly prepared photocatalytically stable and magnetically separable rGO/Fe₃O₄ nanocomposites could be potentially utilized for many environmental remediation applications.