Synthesis of polypyrrole-modified Fe3O4/SiO2/TiO2 nanocomposite microspheres and their photocatalytic activity

A polypyrrole-modified Fe3O4/SiO2/TiO2 composite material was successfully synthesized on the FST surface by in situ polymerization of pyrrole. Structural, morphological and magnetic response of Fe3O4/SiO2/TiO2/PPy(FST/PPy) were characterized by transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction pattern, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, etc. Through SEM images, the crystal sizes of the prepared FST/PPy nanoparticles were determined to be about 110 nm. The catalytic activity of FST/PPy was evaluated by the degree of decomposition of rhodamine B under ultraviolet and visible light, respectively. FST/PPy had the photocatalytic activity under the action of the light: the degradation rate of rhodamine B reached 92.8% and 63.5% after 3 h of UV and Vis light irradiation, respectively. Especially, compared with FST, the degradation rate has shown obvious improvement under the action of Vis light. Furthermore, FST/PPy photocatalyst could be easily recycled using a magnet.

Automated summary

A polypyrrole-modified Fe3O4/SiO2/TiO2 composite material was successfully synthesized on the FST surface by in situ polymerization of pyrrole. The structural, morphological and magnetic response were characterized, and the catalytic activity of the material was evaluated. The results showed that FST/PPy exhibited excellent photocatalytic activity and the degradation rate was significantly improved under visible light. Furthermore, the photocatalyst could be easily recycled using a magnet.