Influence of carbon-based material incorporation on Ag/Fe₃O₄/ZrO₂ composite as highly efficient catalyst for photo- and sonodegradation of organic pollutant

In this work, a novel quaternary composite, Ag/Fe₃O₄/ZrO₂/NGP and Ag/Fe₃O₄/ZrO₂/graphene, as highly efficient catalysts were prepared through ultrasonic-assisted and co-precipitation methods. The prepared composite was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). The photo- and sonocatalytic activity of prepared composite were studied through the degradation of methylene blue (MB) as a model of organic pollutant under UV light and ultrasonic irradiation, separately. The experimental results showed that the composite contained a combination of the desired nanoparticles. In the catalytic activity, Ag/Fe₃O₄/ZrO₂/graphene exhibited much higher efficiency than Ag/Fe₃O₄/ZrO₂/NGP and Ag/Fe₃O₄/ZrO₂ composite. Furthermore, the influence catalyst dosage was studied. To understand the role of reactive species in the sonocatalytic activity, several scavengers were tested. The reusability study suggested that the prepared composite remain stable even after four cycles reused. (paper)