Synthesis of magnetic porous Fe3O4/C/Cu2O composite as an excellent photo-Fenton catalyst under neutral condition.

Abstract Magnetic porous Fe 3 O 4 /C/Cu 2 O composites were prepared by a simple two-step process. Porous Fe 3 O 4 /C was synthesized via calcining iron tartrate precursor and then Cu 2 O was composited with Fe 3 O 4 /C by a precipitation-reduction method. The as-prepared samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) elemental mapping. Results show that Fe 3 O 4 /C has porous nanorod structure, which is composed of numerous small nanoparticles of about 50 nm. Fe 3 O 4 and carbon are uniformly distributed in the Fe 3 O 4 /C/Cu 2 O composite and Cu 2 O is dispersed on the surface of Fe 3 O 4 /C. Fe 3 O 4 /C/Cu 2 O composite exhibits excellent photo-Fenton catalytic performance for the degradation of methylene blue (MB) under visible light irradiation and neutral pH conditions, and MB (100 mg/L) could be almost completely removed within 60 min. The composite shows good recyclability and could be conveniently separated by an applied magnetic field. These results demonstrate that the Fe 3 O 4 /C/Cu 2 O composite is a powerful Fenton-like catalyst for degradation of organic pollutants from wastewater.