ISSN print edition: 0366-6352 ISSN electronic edition: 1336-9075 Registr. No.: MK SR 9/7 Published monthly

Hydrothermal synthesis of magnetic Fe₃O₄–nitrogen-doped graphene hybrid composite and its application as photocatalyst in degradation of methyl orange and methylene blue dyes in presence of copper (II) ions

Rajinder Singh, Manesh Kumar, Heena Khajuria, Jigmet Ladol, and Haq Nawaz Sheikh

University of Jammu, Jammu, India

E-mail: hnsheikh@rediffmail.com

Abstract: Nanocomposite of Fe₃O₄–nitrogen-doped graphene (Fe₃O₄–NG) was synthesized by single step hydrothermal method. The as-synthesized composite was characterised by various techniques such as powder X-ray diffraction, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, vibrating sample magnetometry and thermal analysis (TGA). The catalytic role of synthesized nanocomposite in visible light induced photodegradation of methyl orange (MO; acidic dye) and methylene blue (MB; basic dye) was explored. The role of Cu(II) ions on the photodegradation of the organic dyes was also monitored. Cu(II) ions enhance the photocatalytic activity of nanocomposite by capturing photoelectron, thereby quenching the recombination process of electron–hole pair in photocatalyst.

Keywords: Photodegradation ; Methyl orange ; Methylene blue ; Fe₃O₄–nitrogen doped graphene nanocomposite 

Full paper is available at www.springerlink.com.

DOI: 10.1007/s11696-018-0385-y

Chemical Papers 72 (5) 1181–1192 (2018)