Synthesis and characterizations of FeNi3@SiO2@TiO2 nanocomposite and its application in photo-catalytic degradation, of tetracycline in simulated wastewater

Tetracycline (TC) is an antibiotic widely used in veterinary medicine and in treatment of human infection, and enters aquatic environments. Conventional treatment have not had much impact on removal of TC, as a result, in this study photocatalysis degradation of TC have been considered. FeNi3@SiO2@TiO2 was synthesized, and its characterization were determined using scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, energy dissipation spectroscopy, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Then, its efficiency as a photo-catalyst for TC degradation was examined in a batch reactor and the effects of pH, contact time, initial concentration and nanocomposite dose were investigated. The results showed that the efficiency of the photocatalytic process was 100% using FeNi3@MiO(2)@TiO2 for degradation of TC at a concentration of 10 mg/L, for 200 min, at pH 9, with nanocomposite dose (0.005 g/L). The kinetics of TC degradation followed the pseudo-first-order model. The results of this study showed that FeNi3@SiO2 TiO2 nanocomposite has a reasonable efficiency in degradation of TC, as its relatively simple synthesis and convenient recovery, it could be a suitable catalyst for removal and degradation of pharmaceutical organic pollutants. (C) 2017 Published by Elsevier B.V.