Magnetically separable Ag-Fe3O4 catalyst for the reduction of organic dyes

Abstract We have successfully synthesized magnetically separable catalyst (MSC) Ag-Fe3O4 via facile two step method wherein separately synthesized Fe3O4 and hexanedithiol functionalized Ag nanoparticles (NPs) were mixed at ambient temperature. The structural and morphological analysis confirmed the phase purity of Ag-Fe3O4 MSC. Furthermore, Ag-Fe3O4 MSC showed excellent catalytic activity towards reduction of organic dyes. Kinetic study showed 98.5% rhodamine B reduction with 1.36 min−1 rate constant using Ag-Fe3O4 MSC. Importantly, the recyclability of the MSC was carried out using magnetic separation without losing catalytic activity. This study offers major breakthrough in the field of waste water treatments.