Enhancement of photocatalytic potential and recoverability of Fe3O4 nanoparticles by decorating over monoclinic zirconia

Background Photodegradation of organic pollutants is considered to be the most suitable and cheaper technique to counter the decontamination issues. Metal nanoparticles are considered to be the most effective heterogeneous photocatalysts for photodegradation of organic pollutants. Besides, iron oxide nanoparticles are well-known photocatalysts for degrading organic pollutants. Methods We reported the synthesis of neat iron oxide nanoparticles (Fe 3 O 4 NPs) and zirconia supported iron oxide nanoparticles (Fe 3 O 4 /ZrO 2 NPs) by facile chemical reduction technique for photodegradation ofa toxic azo dye namely methyl red. Results The XRD and FTIR analysis has demonstrated a crystalline phase Fe 3 O 4 NPs. The morphological features via scanning electronic microscopy (FESEM) suggested agglomerated morphology of neat Fe 3 O 4 NPs with 803.54 ± 5.11 nm average particle size and revealed the uniform morphology and homogenous dispersion of Fe 3 O 4 NPs over ZrO 2 surface in Fe 3 O 4 /ZrO 2 nanocomposite. A polydispersity index (PDI) of 0.47 showed sufficient variations in the particle size of neat Fe 3 O 4 NPs, which is also supported by the results obtained from atomic force microscopy (AFM), FESEM and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). Fe 3 O 4 /ZrO 2 NPs demonstrated efficient methyl red degradation over a short period of time under simulated light and degraded about ~ 91.0 ± 1.0% and 87.0 ± 1.0% dye in 40 min, under UV and visible light, respectively. Conclusion The excellent photodegradation efficacy and sustainability of Fe 3 O 4 /ZrO 2 NPs can be attributed to the homogenous distribution of Fe 3 O 4 NPs over ZrO 2 , which facilitates the generation of photoexcitons (electrons and holes), enhanced charge transfer and minimize the charge recombination.