Synthesis and properties of Fe3O4/SiO2/TiO2 nanocomposites by hydrothermal synthetic method

Fe3O4/SiO2/TiO2 nanocomposites with well-defined core-shell structures were successfully prepared by a facile hydrothermal synthetic method for titania coating on Fe3O4/SiO2 magnetic core. The as-prepared Fe3O4/SiO2/TiO2 composite particles were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD),transmission electron microscopy (TEM),Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). The results showed that Fe3O4/SiO2/TiO2 was well crystallized at 140 degrees C with well-defined core-shell structures. Fe3O4/SiO2/TiO2 nanocomposites as well as pure TiO2 showed good photocatalytic performance in the decolorization of methyl orange aqueous solution. Magnetic core coated by SiO2 and TiO2 layer still retained the good magnetic properties (Ms:3.04 emu g(-1)) to facilitate catalyst recovery using external magnetic field. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.