Abstract:
The regeneration of TiO2 used in water purification via photocatalytic reactions is usually carried
out using flocculation, and centrifugation. However, the major drawbacks in these methods are
the needs of additional process controls, equipment, and energy. Use of magnetic separation in
water treatment could be highly effective in both efficiency and operating cost over the other
methods. In this study, ilmenite (Fe TiO3), a naturally available mineral widely used in TiO2
production, is modified into Fe3O4/TiO2 magnetic composite with enhanced magnetic and photo
catalytic activity. The synthesized composite material was tested for photo degradation potential
of a common herbicide1,2-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid. The synthesized Fe3O4/TiO2 was
characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns, X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectroscopy,
and FTIR spectroscopy. The mass susceptibility values of both ilmenite and the synthesized
Fe3O4/TiO2 were also measured. The morphology of the composite particles was also analyzed
by scanning electron microscopy (SEM).The identity of the synthesized Fe3O4/TiO2 was
confirmed by the XRD pattern. FTIR peaks corresponding to Fe-O-O bending and Fe-O
asymmetric stretching were observed at 533 cm-1 and 1,384 cm-1, respectively. The analysis of
the synthesized Fe3O4/TiO2 with XRF data revealed the presence of both Fe (54%) and Ti (44%)
and trace amounts of silicon, manganese, and aluminum. SEM data showed mostly spherical
particles of sub-micron size. Magnetic susceptibility measurements indicate a strong
diamagnetism in the composite material with a mass susceptibility of 8.05x10-3 m3kg which is
much higher than the parent material, ilmenite (3.01x10-3 m3kg). According to the catalytic data
the synthesised nanocomposite shows a strong propensity to remove a common herbicide, 1,2-
dichlorophenoxyacetic acid, from an aqueous solution through photocatalytic degradation with
approximately 65% removal efficiency. These results clearly confirms the synthesis of an
environmentally significant photocatalyst with considerable magnetic properties.
