CTAB optimized TiO2@Fe3S4 photocatalyst for efficient separation and homogeneous degradation of organic pollutants

To investigate the photocatalytic synergistic effect and efficiency of composites of iron sulfide (Fe 3 S 4 ) and titanium dioxide (TiO 2 ) after modification with cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB), this study employed commercial TiO 2 nanoparticles, ferric chloride hexahydrate, and thiourea as precursors to synthesize the catalyst. CTAB was incorporated into the precursors for modification and optimization. A simple one-step solvothermal method was utilized to prepare TiO 2 @Fe 3 S 4 photocatalysts with different CTAB loadings. After modifying the TiO 2 @Fe 3 S 4 photocatalyst with CTAB, its photocatalytic degradation performance for Rhodamine B and sulfamethoxazole was significantly enhanced, the reaction rate constant for its degradation of RhB, calculated using a pseudo-first-order reaction kinetic model, is 0.2187(min −1 ). By guiding the well-distributed construction of semiconductor heterojunctions in Fe 3 S 4 through CTAB in the reaction atmosphere, the spatial uniformity of the heterojunction structure was strengthened. This improvement enhanced the separation capability of photogenerated electrons and holes without compromising their redox properties, thereby exhibiting excellent catalytic efficiency in the degradation of organic pollutants.