Recalcitrant pollutants end up in water effluents, which means that new and more effective technologies for wastewater treatment are required in order to get clean water for human consumption. The Advanced Oxidation Processes (AOPs) have emerged as alternative solutions for the removal of recalcitrant pollutants. AOPs use of photocatalysts, such as ZnO, to generate OH radical and other reactive oxygen species with excellent performance and have a green approach. AOPs, however, present several limitations, such as the lack of reuse of the catalyst and its loss after being used. To solve this problem, magnetic core-shell structures serve as a way to recover these materials, preventing them from ending up in water bodies while keeping their photocatalytic performance. Herein, magnetic core-shell structures Fe3O4/ZnO were successfully synthesized by an easy two-step procedure, using magnetite nanoparticles as seeds for the ZnO deposition. Characterization of the as-prepared particles is presented, demonstrating their size, chemical, morphological and photocatalytic properties. The latter was evaluated by using the as-prepared core-shell structures in the photo-assisted bleaching of pNDA. Results showed a pNDA bleaching of ~80% in 120 minutes using UV365nm irradiation, which gives evidence of OH radical generation. The as-prepared materials also showed to be recyclable, as they kept the same photocatalytic performance after repeated uses. These recyclable structures proved to be promising materials for wastewater treatment or for drinking water, as they keep their magnetic properties of the core after their covering with ZnO.

Photocatalytic core-shell magnetic ZnO nanostructure

2019 Fall National Meeting

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