Magnetic Fe(2)MO(4) (M:Fe, Mn) activated carbons: fabrication, characterization and heterogeneous Fenton oxidation of methyl orange.

ABSTRACT

We present a simple and efficient method for the fabrication of magnetic Fe(2)MO(4) (MFe and Mn) activated carbons (Fe(2)MO(4)/AC-H, MFe and Mn) by impregnating the activated carbon with simultaneous magnetic precursor and carbon modifying agent followed by calcination. The obtained samples were characterized by nitrogen adsorption isotherms, X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM), and the catalytic activity in heterogeneous Fenton oxidation of methyl orange (MO) was evaluated. The resulting Fe(2)MnO(4)/AC-H showed higher catalytic activity in the methyl orange oxidation than Fe(3)O(4)/AC-H. The effect of operational parameters (pH, catalyst loading H(2)O(2) dosage and initial MO concentration) on degradation performance of the oxidation process was investigated. Stability and reusability of selected catalyst were also tested.