Magnetic and reusable Fe₃O₄/PPE-2 functional material for efficient photodegradation of organic dye

Composite photocatalysts based on metal nanoparticles and functional polymers attract much attention compared to inorganic photocatalysts. In this study, a reusable magnetite/anion exchanger (Fe₃O₄/PPE-2) functional material is synthesized by a hydrothermal method, and its photocatalytic activity is evaluated for the photocatalytic degradation of Rhodamine B (RhB). The results from materials characterization confirm a well-defined morphology of magnetic Fe₃O₄/PPE-2 functional material and the formation of Fe₃O₄ nanocrystals with different shapes and sizes on the surface of anion exchange material (PPE-2). The optimized Fe₃O₄/PPE-2 in 180 °C (FM180) photocatalyst exhibited a band gap energy of 1.90 eV, demonstrating significant photocatalytic potential. Using RhB as a model pollutant, magnetic Fe₃O₄/PPE-2 (FM180) functional material achieved 98.2% degradation efficiency after 160 min of visible light irradiation (rate constant k = 0.03496 min⁻¹). Efficiency of the photocatalytic materials, of photocatalytic degradation of RhB is 28.4% for pure anion exchanger (PPE-2), 56.5%, 64.7% and 98.2% for magnetic functional Fe₃O₄/PPE-2 materials, synthesized under conditions of 140 °C (FM140), 160 °C (FM160) and 180 °C (FM180), respectively. Compared to individual PPE-2 anion exchange material and Fe₃O₄, the magnetic functional FM180 material exhibits a remarkable photocatalytic reaction rate as high as four times that of PPE-2, with superior reusability over 10 cycles. The computational study and Mott-Schottky plots verify the formation of the internal electric field. Possible reaction pathways for the photocatalytic degradation of RhB are presented. In addition, the results demonstrate that the Fe₃O₄/PPE-2 functional material very efficiently removed Rhodamine B from textile wastewater. This work offers a simple route for the preparation of magnetic and reusable Fe₃O₄/PPE-2 magnetic functional material that can be used in the water purification process.