Photocatalytic activity of Mordenite Fe3O4-Fe2O3 composite under visible light exposure

Abstract

Abstract Dyes pollution is a serious environmental problem, heterogeneous catalysis has been proposed as a remediation method. In this study, a set of composite catalysts formed by synthetic mordenite with iron oxides was fabricated by a facile chemical co-precipitation method assisted by a subsequent partial thermal oxidation process. Physicochemical characterization of prepared materials was performed by a variety of techniques, including XRD, SEM, EDS, UV-Vis, and XPS. Photocatalytic methylene blue (MB) degradation by the synthesized composite catalyst was evaluated with visible light excitation. From the studied set, the sample prepared with a thermal treatment at 100°C in an air atmosphere for 3 h was capable to degrade ~ 90% of MB after 120 min with visible light of λ = 420 nm exposition and a little portion of H2O2 added. The catalyst composite obtained used three processes to eliminate methylene blue dye organic residue: adsorption of pollution, photocatalysis heterogeneous reaction and Fenton reaction. It is possible to modulate the catalytic properties by thermal treatments in the air atmosphere of synthesized mordenite Fe3O4-Fe2O3 composites. Mordenite iron oxide composites can be retrieved taking advantage of their magnetic properties and can be reusable. Mordenite Fe3O4-Fe2O3 composite could be an economical, facile, and non-toxic alternative for eliminating organic dye pollution using visible light irradiation in wastewater.