Electrospun magnetically separable calcium ferrite nanofibers for photocatalytic water purification

Three-dimensional random calcium ferrite, CaFe2O4, nanofibers (NFs) were successfully prepared via the electrospinning method. The effect of calcination temperature on the characteristics of the as-spun NFs was investigated. X-ray diffraction analysis showed that CaFe2O4 phase crystallized as a main...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of magnetism and magnetic materials 2017-04, Vol.428, p.92-98
Main Authors: EL-Rafei, A.M., El-Kalliny, Amer S., Gad-Allah, Tarek A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
CaFe2O4
Calcium
Crystallization
Effects
Electrospinning
Ferrites
Field emission microscopy
Hydroxyl radicals
Hysteresis loops
Light irradiation
Magnetic fields
Magnetically separable materials
Nanofibers
Photocatalysis
Photocatalyst
Studies
Temperature
Water purification
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Summary:Three-dimensional random calcium ferrite, CaFe2O4, nanofibers (NFs) were successfully prepared via the electrospinning method. The effect of calcination temperature on the characteristics of the as-spun NFs was investigated. X-ray diffraction analysis showed that CaFe2O4 phase crystallized as a main phase at 700°C and as a sole phase at 1000°C. Field emission scanning electron microscopy emphasized that CaFe2O4 NFs were fabricated with diameters in the range of 50–150nm and each fiber was composed of 20–50nm grains. Magnetic hysteresis loops revealed superparamagnetic behavior for the prepared NFs. These NFs produced active hydroxyl radicals under simulated solar light irradiation making them recommendable for photocatalysis applications in water purification. In the meantime, these NFs can be easily separated from the treated water by applying an external magnetic field. [Display omitted] •Three-dimensional porous random CaFe2O4 NFs were successfully produced via electrospinning method.•These NFs exhibited typical superparamagnetic behavior for the ferromagnetic materials.•The low band-gap energy of these NFs (~1.6 eV) allows them to absorb a wide range of the solar spectrum.•These NFs can produce the active •OH under solar light and can be recovered easily by applying an external magnetic field.•These NFs can be used solely as magnetically separable photocatalyst or as magnetic additive for another photocatalyst.
ISSN:0304-8853
1873-4766
DOI:10.1016/j.jmmm.2016.12.020