Introduction of the Environmentally Friendly Sb/TiO2-Fe3O4 Nano Photocatalyst for Removal of Phenolic Compounds

Phenolic compounds are among of current pollutants of water resources. Photodegradation by using semiconductor nano photocatalyst is an effective and practicable method for the removal of these compounds. In this research, Sb/TiO2-Fe3O4 nano photocatalyst with 0 to 10 %w/w Sb was successfully synthesized and their structure was characterized by FT-IR, XRD, SEM methods. The size of synthesized particles was calculated using the XRD pattern and Scherrer equation which is accordant to the average size of nanoparticles observed in SEM images that were about 50 nm. Furthermore, the effects of various parameters including the initial pollutant and antimony concentrations, temperature, pH and the amount of catalyst were investigated. The phenol and 4-nitrophenol were degraded 70.1% and 95% with Sb/TiO2-Fe3O4 (5 %w/w Sb), respectively.