Magnetic Fe3O4@Ru-doped TiO2 nanocomposite as a recyclable photocatalyst for advanced photodegradation of methylene blue in simulated sunlight

Herein, Fe3O4@Ru-doped TiO2 photocatalyst was developed successfully by a facile chemical strategy. The sample with 0.2% doping Ru showed the best photocatalytic activity, which could photodegrade 70.20% of methylene blue after 120 min of simulated sunlight exposure, and kept good degradation efficiency and recovery after 5 cycles. It could be attributed that the Ru-doping alleviated the band gap energy to make the electron-hole pairs easier to generate and enhanced the synergistic effect to increase the carrier separation efficiency. The present work provided a development prospect of simple preparation of recoverable photodegradation catalyst for environmental organic pollutants.

Automated summary

In this study, a Fe3O4@Ru-doped TiO2 photocatalyst was successfully developed using a simple chemical strategy. The sample with 0.2% Ru doping exhibited the best photocatalytic activity, degrading 70.20% of methylene blue after 120 minutes of simulated sunlight exposure, and maintaining good degradation efficiency and recovery after 5 cycles. The Ru doping was found to reduce the band gap energy, facilitate the generation of electron-hole pairs, and enhance carrier separation efficiency, highlighting the potential for simple preparation of recoverable photodegradation catalysts for environmental organic pollutants.