Preparation of Magnetic Silica Nanoparticle-Supported Iron Tetra-Carboxyl Phthalocyanine Catalyst and its Photocatalytic Properties

Abstract

Iron tetra-carboxyl phthalocyanine (TCFePc) was covalently immobilized to the surface of core-shell magnetite silica nanoparticles (NPs) as facilely separated supported catalyst, namely P-M SiO(2) NPs, for catalyzing the degradation of organic pollutants in aqueous solution under visible light irradiation. X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID), and ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy were used to characterize the sample. The photocatalytic activity of P-M SiO(2) NPs was determined using rhodamine B (RhB) and methyl orange (MO) as the objective decomposition substances. The results revealed that the novel supported catalyst exhibited good catalytic activity over a wide pH range, and the degradation rate of RhB and MO is up to 90% during 120 min of reaction. Moreover, it is noteworthy that the catalyst can be easily separated using an external magnetic field and employed directly for the next round of reaction.