Fe3O4-CeO2 metal oxide nanocomposite as a Fenton-like heterogeneous catalyst for degradation of catechol

Magnetically separable Fe3O4-CeO2 metal oxide nanocomposite materials were prepared by co-precipitation method keeping the view of developing an efficient Fenton-like heterogeneous catalyst for the degradation of organic pollutants at simple reaction conditions. The prepared materials were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), BET analysis, Field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM), Transmission electron microscope (TEM) and Vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). These materials were used as heterogeneous catalyst for the degradation of catechol from aqueous solutions in the presence of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) at room temperature to evaluate the catalytic activities. The degradation of catechol was monitored by UV-Vis spectrophotometer and the formation of degraded products like 2-hydroxy-1,4-benzoquinone, acetic acid, β-ketoadepic acid, Glyoxilic acid and Glutaconic acid were identified with the help of Liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC-MS) studies. The catalytic activities were evaluated in terms of reaction parameters like pH, amount of catalyst and H2O2 concentration. Activity results revealed that the prepared Fe3O4-CeO2 (15 wt%) catalyst shows the maximum activity for degradation of catechol as compared to the other prepared catalysts. After the degradation reaction the Fe3O4-CeO2 catalyst was recovered from the reaction mixture by using an external magnet and successively used for five consecutive cycles with excellent catalytic activity which is comparable to the fresh catalyst. The efficiency in degradation and easy separation of the catalyst exhibits that Fe3O4-CeO2 (15%) catalyst is promising for the removal of catechol from aqueous solutions from green chemistry perspectives.