The properties of titania, which is well known for the high productivity of hydroxyl free radicals when exposed to ultraviolet light, low toxicity, and low cost make it a popular choice in wastewater treatment. Specifically titania can catalyse the decomposition of a wide range of chemicals such as azo dyes, aromatic compounds, and endocrine disruptors. One of these could be the treatment of chemicals and biological molecules in wastewater. Nanoparticles could find their uses in many important industrial processes. The particles were recovered after utilization, washing, and drying and the primary recovery ratio was 87.5%. The results showed that the introduction of the Fe 3O 4-SiO 2-TiO 2 functional nanoparticles significantly increased the decoloration rate so that an MO solution at a concentration of 10 mg/L could be decoloured completely within 180 minutes. The functionality of these particles was tested by measuring the photocatalytic activity of the decolouring of methyl orange (MO) and methylene blue (MB) under ultraviolet light and sunlight. These magnetic properties, large area, relative high saturation intensity, and low retentive magnetism make the particles have high dispersibility in suspension and yet enable them to be recovered well using magnetic fields. The results of characterizations showed that the encapsulated 700 nm Fe 3O 4-SiO 2-TiO 2 particles have a relatively uniform size distribution, an anatase TiO 2 shell, and suitable magnetic properties for allowing collection in a magnetic field. The Fe 3O 4 cores were then modified with SiO 2 and finally encapsulated with TiO 2 by the sol-gel method. The Fe 3O 4 cores which were mainly superparamagnetic were synthesized through a novel carbon reduction method. The particles were recovered after utilization, washing, and drying and the primary recovery ratio was 87.5%.This paper describes a novel method of synthesizing Fe 3O 4-SiO 2-TiO 2 functional nanoparticles with the core-shell structure. The results showed that the introduction of the Fe3O4-SiO2-TiO2functional nanoparticles significantly increased the decoloration rate so that an MO solution at a concentration of 10 mg/L could be decoloured completely within 180 minutes. The results of characterizations showed that the encapsulated 700 nm Fe3O4-SiO2-TiO2particles have a relatively uniform size distribution, an anatase TiO2shell, and suitable magnetic properties for allowing collection in a magnetic field.
The Fe3O4cores were then modified with SiO2and finally encapsulated with TiO2by the sol-gel method. The Fe3O4cores which were mainly superparamagnetic were synthesized through a novel carbon reduction method. This paper describes a novel method of synthesizing Fe3O4-SiO2-TiO2functional nanoparticles with the core-shell structure.