Synthesis of 5,10,15,20-tetrakis[4-(naphthalen-2-yloxycarbonyl)phenyl]porphyrin (TNBP) and its complexes with zinc and cobalt and an investigation of the photocatalytic activity of nanoFe3O4@ZrO2–TNBP

Abstract

5,10,15,20-Tetrakis[4-(naphthalen-2-yloxycarbonyl)phenyl]porphyrin (TNBP) and its porphyrin complexes with zinc and cobalt and nanoFe₃O₄@ZrO₂–TNBP photocatalyst were synthesized with high yields and the structure and morphology were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV-Vis, FT-IR and ¹H-NMR spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The photocatalytic activity was investigated by photo degradation of methylene blue in aqueous solution under visible light irradiation. The results demonstrated that porphyrin significantly enhanced the visible photocatalytic activity of Fe₃O₄@ZrO₂ magnetic nanoparticles in the degradation of methylene blue. The findings also demonstrate that Fe₃O₄@ZrO₂–TNBP photocatalysts exhibited higher photoactivity than bare Fe₃O₄@ZrO₂ nanoparticles under light irradiation.