Novel WO3/Fe3O4 magnetic photocatalysts: Preparation, characterization and thiacloprid photodegradation

Abstract

This work presents the characterization of novel synthesized WO3/Fe3O4 catalysts and investigates their photocatalytic activity for thiacloprid decomposition under UV and simulated sunlight radiation. Four WO3/Fe3O4 nanopowders with different amounts of WO3 were synthesized by chemical co-precipitation method. XRD analysis showed the presence of hematite and magnetite nano-dimensional phases of Fe3O4 in the catalysts. The magnetite phase content increased with increasing WO3 content. Degradation efficiency of thiacloprid in the presence of 6.1WO3/Fe3O4/H2O2 under simulated solar radiation was 2.2 times higher compared to Fe3O4. Under an external magnetic field, a significant increase in the catalysts separation from reaction mixture was observed.