Photocatalytic Degradation of Azo Dyes and Organic Contaminants in Wastewater Using Magnetically Recyclable Fe3O4@UA-Cu Nano-catalyst

Abstract

In this study, we delineated the structural properties and catalytic behavior of nanocrystalline Fe3O4@Urocanic acid(UA)-Cu magnetically recyclable nanocatalyst (MRCs) which was produced via hydrothermal route. Here, Urocanic acid (UA) used as a linker to attach Cu nanoparticles and stabilized the iron oxide. Structural properties were examined through Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive spectrometry (EDX). Moreover, thermal and magnetic properties of MRCs were completed using thermal gravimetry (TG) and vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM) respectively. Moreover, the catalytic studies of product were recorded by UV-Vis absorption spectrophotometer for azo dyes and aromatic nitro compounds. The synthesized MRCs was found as an efficient nanocatalyst and magnetically recyclable from the reaction medium without significantly loss in its catalytic activity. Fe3O4@UA-Cu MRCs can be considered for the treatment of industrial dyes pollutants and organic contaminants from wastewater.