Synthesis of Fe–Ni–Ce trimetallic catalyst nanoparticles via impregnation and co-precipitation and their application to dye degradation

Abstract

In this study, trimetallic catalysts were prepared via the co-precipitation and impregnation methods. In order to investigate the effect of impregnation on the catalytic activity and crystallite size, a trimetallic catalyst, Fe–Ni–Ce, was prepared through the co-precipitation method in one set of experiments, and cerium was impregnated with the Ni–Fe mixture in the final stage of the preparation in another set. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy was employed to confirm the formation of trimetallic catalysts and the success of the impregnation method. The Brunauer–Emmett–Teller nitrogen adsorption isotherm exhibits a high specific surface area (approximately 39 m