Photocatalytic and photoelectrocatalytic degradation of metoprolol tartrate in aqueous media by recyclable Co doping Fe3O4/TiO2 magnetic core–shell nanocomposites

Magnetically recoverable cobalt doping Fe 3 O 4 /TiO 2 magnetic nanocomposites with an acceptable core–shell structure were prepared via a sol-gel process at low calcination temperature. The crystalline size and structure, morphology, and magnetic properties of resulting particles have been characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), FT-Raman, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), and vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM). Metoprolol tartrate (MET) as a pharmaceutical pollutant was used to observe the photocatalytic degradation ability of the magnetically recoverable particles. The process of degradation under UV irradiation at controlled temperature was studied and the remaining concentrations of MET as a contaminant were measured by UV-Vis spectrometer at λ = 229 nm. This ability remained 95.76% after three times of repetitive use at the same conditions. Various parameters such as reaction temperature, pH, and speed of stirring of the aqueous solution had an effect on the rate of degradation. The amount of cobalt dopant and nanocomposites are also effective on the rate of degradation. Coupling of electrical current with photocatalytic process has proven to be effective in the degradation of MET aqueous solution clearly.