Abstract
In this work, a magnetic Fe
3
O
4
photocatalyst supported on mesoporous silica (SiO
2
) and combined with chlorophyll was developed to give a large surface area and a bifunctional property to the Fe
3
O
4
nanocomposite. The as-synthesized Fe
3
O
4
/SiO
2
and chlorophyll coated Fe
3
O
4
/SiO
2
nanocomposites were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and UV–visible spectroscopy (UV–Vis). The XRD patterns of SiO
2
nanoparticles indicated an amorphous structure, while the SiO
2
/Fe
3
O
4
patterns showed five characteristic peaks, which confirm a highly crystalline SiO
2
/Fe
3
O
4
nanoparticles with cubic spinel structures with a particle size of around 10 nm. The SEM images confirmed the successful coating of Fe
3
O
4
on the amorphous surface of silica. It also showed spherical SiO
2
nanoparticles within 200–400 nm and spherical Fe
3
O
4
nanoparticles with small crystallite aggregates. The FTIR spectra of SiO
2
/Fe
3
O
4
/Chl confirmed the existence of a chlorophyll layer around the SiO
2
/Fe
3
O
4
nanoparticles. The photocatalytic efficiency of the prepared nanocomposite has been tested for the degradation of 2,4-dinitrophenol (DNP) and methyl orange (MO) under visible light irradiation. The obtained results showed 76.3% and 80% degradation of DNP and MO, respectively in 150 min.