Facile method to synthesize magnetic iron oxides/TiO2 hybrid nanoparticles and their photodegradation application of methylene blue.

Many methods have been reported to improving the photocatalytic efficiency of organic pollutant and their reliable applications. In this work, we propose a facile pathway to prepare three different types of magnetic iron oxides/TiO2 hybrid nanoparticles (NPs) by seed-mediated method. The hybrid NPs are composed of spindle, hollow, and ultrafine iron oxide NPs as seeds and 3-aminopropyltriethyloxysilane as linker between the magnetic cores and TiO2 layers, respectively. The composite structure and the presence of the iron oxide and titania phase have been confirmed by transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and X-ray photoelectron spectra. The hybrid NPs show good magnetic response, which can get together under an external applied magnetic field and hence they should become promising magnetic recovery catalysts (MRCs). Photocatalytic ability examination of the magnetic hybrid NPs was carried out in methylene blue (MB) solutions illuminated under Hg light in a photochemical reactor. About 50% to 60% of MB was decomposed in 90 min in the presence of magnetic hybrid NPs. The synthesized magnetic hybrid NPs display high photocatalytic efficiency and will find recoverable potential applications in cleaning polluted water with the help of magnetic separation.