Titania deposited on soft magnetic activated carbon as a magnetically separable photocatalyst with enhanced activity

Magnetically separable composite photocatalysts, TiO2 deposited on soft magnetic ferrite activated carbon (TFAC), were prepared by sol–gel and dip-coating technique. The prepared composites were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), Fourier transform infrared spectra (FTIR), optical absorption spectroscopy, vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) and nitrogen adsorption. These photocatalysts exhibited enhanced photocatalytic activity compared to Degussa P25 for the degradation of methyl orange (MO) in aqueous solution. The kinetics of MO degradation was well fitted to the Langmuir–Hinshelwood model. The samples showed good magnetic response and could be completely recovered by an external magnet. Furthermore, the photocatalysts could maintain high photocatalytic activity after five cycles, and the degradation rate of MO was still close to 90%.