ZnO doped Fe3O4/Activated carbon Composite for High Efficient Photocatalytic Degradation of Congo red Dye

The widespread presence of dyes in water necessitates study to mitigate these hazardous substances. The current investigation synthesized Fe₃O₄/activated carbon (AC) doped with ZnO to create the Fe₃O₄/AC@ZnO composite, utilized for the photocatalytic degradation of Congo red dye. Activated carbon was produced from bamboo utilizing KOH as an activator. The synthesized Fe₃O₄/AC@ZnO composite was characterized utilizing various instruments, including X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Scanning Electron Microscopy with Electron Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (SEM-EDS), Vibrating Sample Magnetometry (VSM), BET surface area analysis. The absorbance of Congo red dye was assessed UV-Vis Diffuse Reflectance Spectroscopy (UV-Vis DRS). Fe₃O₄/AC@ZnO composite exhibits magnetic properties with a magnetic moment of 59.37 emu/g, a bandgap of 2.16 eV, and a surface area of 131.56 m²/g. Fe₃O₄/AC@ZnO has tremendous performance as catalyst under visible light, achieving a 99.20% reduction of Congo red dye at pH 4, a dosage of 0.3 g/L, a dye concentration of 20 mg/L, and an irradiation time of 80 min. Furthermore, the catalyst exhibits significant stability, with an efficiency of 92% after five repetitions. The superoxide anion (•O₂⁻) plays a fundamental function in degradation. The pseudo-first-order model effectively describe the kinetic behavior of the photocatalytic degradation of Congo red dye.