One-Step Fabrication of Magnetic Carbon Nanocomposite as Adsorbent for Removal of Methylene Blue

Magnetic Fe3O4@C nanocomposites with well-defined core@shell structure were synthesized via a facile one-step solvothermal process using ferrocene as both iron and carbon resource in the presence of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). The as-prepared Fe3O4@C nanocomposites were employed as adsorbent materials for removal of methylene blue (MB) from aqueous solution. Several experimental parameters, including contact time, acidity of the solution, and initial MB concentration were investigated. The result showed that the equilibrium uptake of MB was related to the MB initial concentration as well as acidity of the solution. The adsorption kinetics of MB was dominated by the pseudo-second order reaction model. Significantly, the synthesized Fe3O4@C nanocomposites could be easily isolated from the adsorption system after adsorbing MB and showed prominent reusability. All results indicated that the prepared Fe3O4@C composites had the potential to be used as adsorbents for the removal of dye pollutant from wastewater.