Robab Mohammadi
Abstract
In this research, Fe3O4, Fe3O4/graphene oxide (Fe3O4/GO) and polyaniline-Fe3O4/GO with various content of polyaniline were prepared and characterized by different analysis methods such as XRD, SEM, EDX, and FT-IR. The prepared samples were used to remove methyl red as an anionic dye from aqueous solutions. ...
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In this research, Fe3O4, Fe3O4/graphene oxide (Fe3O4/GO) and polyaniline-Fe3O4/GO with various content of polyaniline were prepared and characterized by different analysis methods such as XRD, SEM, EDX, and FT-IR. The prepared samples were used to remove methyl red as an anionic dye from aqueous solutions. Polyaniline-Fe3O4/GO nanocomposite showed high catalytic activity, which is partly because of the sensitizing influence of polyaniline and the low recombination rate due to the graphene oxide electron scavenging property. The photodegradation reaction fit well to a Langmuir-Hinshelwood kinetic model implying the reaction rate is depended on initial adsorption step. Also, in polyaniline-Fe3O4/GO samples, the polyaniline content can play a significant role in affecting photocatalytic activity of photocatalysts. Based on results, when the content of polyaniline is more increased above its optimum value, the photocatalytic performance decreased. Furthermore, the efficiency of polyaniline-Fe3O4/GO nanocomposite was investigated to compare between adsorption and photodegradation of methyl red from aqueous solution. Based on results, the removal rate of methyl red via polyaniline-Fe3O4/GO nanocomposite under photocatalytic process was considerably higher than the adsorption process. To understand the nature of adsorption procedure, the equilibrium adsorption isotherms were investigated. The linear correlation coefficients of Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms were obtained. Based on results, Langmuir isotherm model fitted the experimental data better than Freundlich isotherm model. According to the Langmuir isotherm model, the maximum adsorption capacity of polyaniline-Fe3O4/GO nanocomposite for sequestering methyl red was about 101.72 mg g–1.
