Superparamagnetic-Fe3O4-Decorated-In(OH)3-Nanocomposites as Photocatalyst for Dyes and Microbes Treatments Under UVC

Chong, Chi Yan (2024) Superparamagnetic-Fe3O4-Decorated-In(OH)3-Nanocomposites as Photocatalyst for Dyes and Microbes Treatments Under UVC. Masters thesis, Tunku Abdul Rahman University of Management and Technology.

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Abstract

This thesis is about the synthesis of superparamagnetic Fe3O4/In(OH)3 nanocomposite (SPIDIN) in water intended to be applied as one of the new alternatives, photocatalysis for healthcare waste treatment. In order to resolve the drastic increase of healthcare waste and enforce a safe and efficient healthcare waste management plan, application of nanomaterial in photocatalysis has proposed by many researchers and various different nanophotocatalysts have been reported. In this thesis, SPIDIN was produced at 25 °C in water via a direct reduction of FeCl3 in the presence of In(OH)3 using a non-toxic polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) as surfactant. SPIDIN was structurally characterized using a combination of PXRD, FESEM, HRTEM, VSM, UV-vis spectroscopy and FTIR. PXRD was employed to proof the presence of In(OH)3 and Fe3O4 in the produced sample. Through the analysis of FESEM and HRTEM, the morphology of SPIDIN were observed. Interestingly, the addition of Fe3+ led to the formation of In(OH)3 nanorods rather than the commonly observed nanocubes. The incorporation of Fe3O4 nanoparticles served to bestow SPIDIN’s superparamagnetic properties which were confirmed in VSM analysis. In comparison to the In(OH)3 system having a band gap of 5.0 eV, the effective band gap of SPIDIN was determined to be 2.8 eV using Tauc’s plot method. Under UVC illumination, the SPIDIN dispersed on carbon allowed synergistic photodegradation of methylene blue (MB) and malachite green (MG) up to 95% & 96% respectively within 1 hr. The recyclability of SPIDIN was also investigated by applying SPIDIN in 5 cycles of MB photodegradation. In the presence of H2O2, free standing SPIDIN was able to disinfect Gram- positive bacteria Staphylococcus aureus and Gram-negative bacteria Salmonella enterica, signifying the potential of SPIDIN in biomedical waste treatment with H2O being the innocuous byproduct.