Electrical, magnetic and photoelectrochemical activity of rGO/MgFe2O4 nanocomposites under visible light irradiation

Magnetically separable rGO/MgFe2O4 nanocomposites having favorable photocatalytic activity were prepared by one step hydrothermal method. X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and raman analysis confirmed the spinel structure of magnesium ferrite nanoparticles. The UV visible measurements indicated that the rGO/MgFe2O4 photocatalyst exhibits the strong visible absorption. Two probe electrical conductivity (I-V) measurements exhibited the higher conductivity of rGO/MgFe2O4 nanocomposite relative to MgFe2O4 nanoparticles. The magnetic measurements showed that the rGO/MgFe2O4 nanocomposite could be collected from water when an external magnetic field is applied. The photocatalytic studies were carried out by taking methylene blue as model organic compound under visible light irradiation. The photo-electrochemical (PEC) water splitting properties of the rGO/MgFe2O4 nanocomposite exhibited higher PEC performance compared to MgFe2O4 nanoparticles owing to the suppression of charge recombination. The results showed that nanocomposite can be used as photo catalysts for degradation of organic compounds in the polluted water. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd and Techna Group S.r.l. All rights reserved.