Construction of magnetic visible-light-driven plasmonic Fe3O4@SiO2@AgCl : Ag nanophotocatalyst

Abstract

A magnetic visible-light response core-shell Fe₃O₄@SiO₂@AgCl : Ag nanocomposites with enhanced photocatalytic performance has been prepared by combining polyol, sol–gel and photo-reduction methods. Room temperature magnetic hysteresis curves show that the as-synthesized Fe₃O₄@SiO₂@AgCl : Ag nanoparticles display ferromagnetic behaviour with saturation magnetization of 10.76 emu g⁻¹. This property indicates that the nanophotocatalyst can be easily separated by applying an external magnetic field. Furthermore, the as-achieved nanophotocatalyst exhibits high activity and stability toward decomposition of organic pollutant, e.g., Rhodamine B (RhB). For example, it takes only 4 min to degrade RhB molecules with the assistance of magnetic nanocomposites under visible-light irradiation. The nanophotocatalyst can be reused eight times without loss of activity. The high activity, stability and magnetic recyclability of the nanophotocatalyst afford it promising applications in environmental remediation, water disinfection and potential use in industry.