Cerium-substituted magnetite: Fabrication, characterization and sonocatalytic activity assessment

Alireza Khataee; Ramin Hassandoost; Shima Rahim Pouran

doi:10.1016/j.ultsonch.2017.10.028

Cerium-substituted magnetite: Fabrication, characterization and sonocatalytic activity assessment

Ultrason Sonochem. 2018 Mar:41:626-640. doi: 10.1016/j.ultsonch.2017.10.028. Epub 2017 Oct 31.

Authors

Alireza Khataee¹, Ramin Hassandoost², Shima Rahim Pouran²

Affiliations

¹ Research Laboratory of Advanced Water and Wastewater Treatment Processes, Department of Applied Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, University of Tabriz, 51666-16471 Tabriz, Iran; Department of Materials Science and Nanotechnology Engineering, Near East University, 99138 Nicosia, North Cyprus, Mersin 10, Turkey. Electronic address: a_khataee@tabrizu.ac.ir.
² Research Laboratory of Advanced Water and Wastewater Treatment Processes, Department of Applied Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, University of Tabriz, 51666-16471 Tabriz, Iran.

PMID: 29137795
DOI: 10.1016/j.ultsonch.2017.10.028

Abstract

The present paper reports the sonocatalytic activity of cerium-substituted-magnetite for removal of oxytetracycline (OTC). The catalyst was prepared through a chemical route (co-precipitation, Fe_3-xCe_xO₄) and a mechanical procedure (CeO₂/Fe₃O₄). Subsequently, the physico-chemical characteristics of both samples were determined using XRD, BET, SEM, EDX, TEM, Dot-mapping, FT-IR, DRS, and VSM analysis and compared to pristine magnetite and ceria. Afterwards, the effects of various operational conditions were assessed on sonocatalytic performance of Fe_2.8Ce_0.2O₄ for OTC removal and the obtained optimal conditions were applied to compare the resulted DE with so-synthesized Fe₃O₄, CeO₂, and CeO₂/Fe₃O₄ samples. Fe_2.8Ce_0.2O₄ (0.75 g/L) exhibited great catalytic performance for sono-degradation of OTC under its unchanged pH and US power of 300 W, wherein about 88% and 64% of OTC was removed at its initial concentrations of 20 and 50 mg/L. Moreover, the effects of the addition of a number of oxidants, organic and inorganic compounds and gases on the sonocatalytic degradation of OTC were evaluated under the identical condition. The obtained results presented an effective sonocatalytic system based on the synergistic action of Fe_2.8Ce_0.2O₄ under ultrasonic irradiation.

Keywords: Cavitation; Cerium-substituted magnetite; Nanosized catalyst; Oxytetracycline; Sonocatalytic degradation.