Enhanced visible-light photocatalysis of TiO2/Fe3O4/BiOI nanocomposites as magnetically recoverable for the degradation of dye pollutants

The treatment of chemical dyes present in textile wastewater and its reuse for irrigational purposes has become a significant concern for the researchers. In this research paper, the magnetically separable n-p junction TiO2/Fe3O4/BiOI nanocomposites, regarded as novel visible-light photocatalysts, were perpetrated via a facile method for the decontamination of different dyes. To investigate the optical properties, phase structures, and morphologies of the nanocomposites, several techniques such as FT-IR, XRD, SEM, TEM, EDX, VSM, BET, UV-Vis DRS, and PL were applied. The results indicated that the TiO2/Fe3O4/BiOI (20%) photocatalyst demonstrated the best photo-degradation activity for the Rhodamine B (RhB), which was around 6.85 and 4.39-folds larger than the TiO2 and TiO2/Fe3O4 photocatalysts, respectively. The increase photocatalytic activity could be credited to the higher specific surface area and the forming of n-p hetero-junctions between TiO2 and BiOI semiconductors. The TiO2/Fe3O4/BiOI (20%) nanocomposite displayed excellent activity as well in degradations of Methyl Orange, Fuchsine, and Malachite Green dyes. According to the results, center dot O-2-played a critical role during the photocatalytic elimination of RhB. Furthermore, the ternary nanocomposite showed high photocatalytic stability. The present work provides a new approach to design ternary visible light photocatalysts based on TiO2 with enhanced performances for water purifications.