Synthesis of magnetic ferrite/carbon nano sphere composites (MFe2O4/CNS, M = Mn, Ni, Zn) for Rhodamine B degradation by catalyzing persulfate

Nano magnetic particles immobilized on the surface of carbon spheres ( M Fe 2 O 4 /CNS, M  = Mn, Ni, Zn) composites have been obtained through a facile and environmental friendly solvothermal method. The measurement results of M Fe 2 O 4 /CNS clarified the successful preparation of M Fe 2 O 4 /CNS and characterization of composites. Meanwhile, the activation performance of M Fe 2 O 4 /CNS was also measured through catalyzing persulfate (PS) for degrading Rhodamine B. Results showed that the catalytic performance of M Fe 2 O 4 /CNS for PS activation was much stronger than that of pure CNS, and the catalytic ability of M Fe 2 O 4 /CNS was MnFe 2 O 4 /CNS > NiFe 2 O 4 /CNS > ZnFe 2 O 4 /CNS. The influence factors of Rhodamine B degradation were also investigated. When the optimum conditions were conducted, with PS 5 × 10 –3  M, MnFe 2 O 4 /CNS 0.5 g/L, initial pH 6.0, and 60 °C, 98.4% Rhodamine B degradation was obtained within 70 min. Finally, the recycle of MnFe 2 O 4 /CNS was carried out for four times, which demonstrated the favorable retrievability and reusability of MnFe 2 O 4 /CNS. The experiments also proved that the synthesized MnFe 2 O 4 /CNS was a potentially useful catalyst for contaminants degradation in water/wastewater treatment.