Synthesis and characterization of hard magnetic composite photocatalyst—Barium ferrite/silica/titania

Hard magnetic composite photocatalytic particles—barium ferrite (magnetic core)/silica (intermediate layer)/titania (photoactive shell) (B/S/T) were prepared by wet-chemical methods. Anatase titania nanoparticles were directly coated on the silica-coated barium ferrite forming photoactive titania shell by hydrolysis and condensation of titanium n-butoxide. The prepared hard magnetic composite photocatalyst can be magnetically fluidized and recovered by an applied magnetic field enhancing both the separation and mixing efficiency for remediating fluids. The prepared composite particles were characterized with scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), high resolution TEM (HRTEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), BET specific surface area measurement and inductively coupled plasma (ICP) spectroscopy. The photocatalytic activity of the synthesized composite particles was tested by photodegradation of Procion red MX-5B dye under UV illumination (302 nm) and compared with that of titania nanoparticles. The as-prepared composite particles were photoactive, with enhanced photocatalytic activity after the heat-treatment at 500 °C for 1 h. The reusability of the composite photocatalytic particles was also tested and the recycled composite particles presented the photocatalytic activity comparable to the fresh composite particles.