Fabrication of a magnetic nanocomposite photocatalysts Fe3O4@ZIF-67 for degradation of dyes in water under visible light irradiation

As organic dyes are a major group of water pollutants, the development of materials for the removal of dyes is of great significance for the environment. Here, a novel flower-like Fe3O4@ZIF-67 photocatalyst was synthesized using a simple method at room temperature. It was found that the Fe3O4@ZIF-67 exhibited the ability of degrading Congo red (CR) quickly under visible light irradiation in a short time after adsorption equilibrium. Free radical trapping experiments revealed that the photo-induced active species superoxide radical (.O2-) and holes (h(+)) were the predominant active species in the photocatalytic system. In addition, results demonstrated that the Fe3O4@ZIF-67 can be magnetically recycled, and maintain high photocatalytic activity after reuse over five cycles with no obvious decrease in the removal efficiency. It suggested that the synthesized material had a potentially promising application for CR removal from waste water.