Abstract
Various impurities found nowadays in water can be detrimental to human health. This work focused on utilizing Fe3O4@MnO2 nanocomposite for cleaning organic contaminants from water, including rhodamine B (RhB) and Escherichia coli (E. coli). Analysis methods such as XRD, UV–vis, TEM, and FTIR were used to describe the nanocomposite. The results showed that the developed nanocomposite has good photocatalytic activity against pollutants in wastewater. The E. coli was destroyed after 90 min, and the RhB photodegradation rate was 75%. Moreover, the Fe3O4@MnO2 efficiency as a catalyst for producing hydrogen as an alternative energy source was tested. According to the calculations, the nanomaterial's turnover frequency, activation energy, enthalpy, and entropy are 1061.3 h−1, 28.93 kJ/mol, 26.38 kJ/mol, and −128.41 J/mol.K, respectively. Four reusability tests were completed, and the average reusability was 78%. The obtained data indicated the excellent potential for the developed Fe3O4@MnO2 nanomaterial to act as an adsorbent, thus representing an alternative to the classical depollution methods. This study showed that nanoparticles have a photocatalytic effect against pathogenic bacteria and RhB azo dye in polluted waters and offer an effective catalytic activity to produce hydrogen as an alternative energy source.
•Fe3O4@MnO2 NPs showed 75% of photodegradation activity against RhB dye at 120 min.•Fe3O4@MnO2 NPs eliminated E. coli bacteria in 90 min under sunlight.•The catalytic activity of Fe3O4@MnO2 NPs for hydrogen production using NaBH4 was determined.•The TOF value of Fe3O4@MnO2 NPs was found to be 1061.3 h1.