Enhanced sonocatalytic degradation of organic dyes from aqueous solutions by novel synthesis of mesoporous Fe3O4-graphene/ZnO@SiO2 nanocomposites

Fe3O4-graphene/ZnO@mesoporous-SiO2 (MGZ@SiO2) nanocomposites was synthesized via a simple one pot hydrothermal method. The as-obtained samples were investigated using various techniques, as follows: scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and specific surface area (BET) vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM), among others. The sonocatalytic activities of the catalysts were tested according to the oxidation for the removal of methylene blue (MB), methyl orange (MO), and rhodamine B (RhB) under ultrasonic irradiation. The optimal conditions including the irradiation time, pH, dye concentration, catalyst dosage, and ultrasonic intensity are 60 min, 11, 50 mg/L, 1.00 g/L, and 40 W/m(2), respectively. The MGZ@SiO2 showed the higher enhanced sonocatalytic degradation from among the three dyes; furthermore, the sonocatalytic-degradation mechanism is discussed. This study shows that the MGZ@SiO2 can be applied as a novel-design catalyst for the removal of organic pollutants from aqueous solutions.