Preparation of Fe3O4/TiO2 magnetic mesoporous composites for photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants

Fe3O4/TiO2 magnetic mesoporous composites were synthesized through a sol-gel method with tetran-butyl titanate as precursor and surfactant P123 as template. The as-prepared Fe3O4/TiO2 composites were characterized by X-ray diffraction, diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, nitrogen adsorption-desorption isotherm and pore size distribution. The as-synthesized products were applied as photocatalysis for the degradation of Acid Black ATT and tannery wastewater under UV lamp irradiation. Fe3O4/TiO2-8 composites containing Fe3O4 of 8 wt% were selected as model catalysts. The optimal catalyst dosage was 3 g/L in this photocalytic system. The magnetic Fe3O4/TiO2 composites possessed good photocatalytic stability and durability. This approach may provide a platform to prepare a magnetic composite to optimize the catalytic ability.