Magnetically separable sulfur-doped SnFe2O4/graphene nanohybrids for effective photocatalytic purification of wastewater under visible light

Yuefa Jia; Changjin Wu; B W Lee; Chunli Liu; Seokwon Kang; Taehyoung Lee; Yun Chang Park; Ran Yoo; Wooyoung Lee

doi:10.1016/j.jhazmat.2017.05.057

Magnetically separable sulfur-doped SnFe₂O₄/graphene nanohybrids for effective photocatalytic purification of wastewater under visible light

J Hazard Mater. 2017 Sep 15:338:447-457. doi: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2017.05.057. Epub 2017 Jun 1.

Authors

Yuefa Jia¹, Changjin Wu¹, B W Lee¹, Chunli Liu², Seokwon Kang³, Taehyoung Lee³, Yun Chang Park⁴, Ran Yoo⁵, Wooyoung Lee⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Physics and Oxide Research Center, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, Yongin 17035, Republic of Korea.
² Department of Physics and Oxide Research Center, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, Yongin 17035, Republic of Korea. Electronic address: chunliliu@hufs.ac.kr.
³ Department of Environmental Science, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, Yongin 17035, Republic of Korea.
⁴ Department of Measurement and Analysis, National Nanofab Center, Daejeon 34141, Republic of Korea.
⁵ Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Yonsei University, Seoul , 03722, Republic of Korea.

PMID: 28595159
DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2017.05.057

Abstract

In this report, magnetically recoverable sulfur-doped SnFe₂O₄/graphene (S-SFO/GR) nanohybrids have been successfully developed via a facile solvothermal method. The characterizations on the structural, morphology, and optical properties of the nanohybrids indicate that S-SFO particles are successfully embedded on the GR nanosheets. The photocatalytic activity has been evaluated by photocatalytic degradation of chlorotetracycline under visible light irradiation. Among the composites with various mass ratios, the quasi-first-order rate constant of the nanohybrids formed with 9wt% S in SFO and 15wt% GR (9S-SFO/GR-15) can reach as high as 1.83min^-1, which is much higher than that of SFO (0.68min^-1) and SFO/GR (0.91min^-1), confirming the important role of S and GR for the photocatalytic process. The combination of the three components of S, SFO, and GR has enhanced the visible light absorption capability and inhibited the recombination of photogenerated electron-hole. The 9S-SFO/GR-15 nanohybrids can be recovered easily by a magnet and reused for five times with remained photocatalytic efficiency about 70%. A possible catalytic mechanism explaining the efficient photocatalytic performances of the prepared nanohybrids has been proposed.

Keywords: Chlorotetracycline; Graphene; Photocatalytic; SnFe(2)O(4); Sulfur.