Photocatalytic activity of MgFe2O4:TiO2 composite for degrading methylene blue

Hasniah Aliah (Department of Physics, Faculty of Science and Technology, Universitas Islam Negeri Sunan Gunung Djati Bandung)
Elis Sabilil Hidayah (Department of Physics, Faculty of Science and Technology, Universitas Islam Negeri Sunan Gunung Djati Bandung)
Ryan Nur Iman (Department of Physics, College of Engineering and Physics, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals)
Asti Sawitri (Department of Physics, Faculty of Mathematics and Science, Universitas Halim Sanusi, Jalan Garut No. 02, Bandung, Indonesia)
Andhy Setiawan (Department of Physics, Faculty of Science and Mathematics, Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia Jalan Dr. Setiabudi No. 229, Bandung, Indonesia)

Jurnal Pendidikan Fisika dan Keilmuan (JPFK)
Vol 8, No 1 (2022)

We reported the methylene blue (MB) degradation by the photocatalysis method. This work aimed to know the effectiveness of degradation using a MgFe2O4:TiO2 composite. Synthesis of the composite used the sol-gel method. We synthesized three samples with ratios between MgFe2O4 and TiO2. Those were 100:0, 50:50, and 75:25, respectively. Sample (75:25) degraded MB of 47.23% with a reaction rate of 5.326 x 10-3 minute-1 under solar radiation. Whereas, without solar radiation, a sample showed a lower reaction rate. It happened because the sunlight produced photon energy to produce OH* radical so that it could activate the sample to absorb the dye. Reusable test resulted 19.73% degradation of MB for 100:0, 17.03% for 50:50, and 20.59% for 75:25 for 120 minutes. The XRD result for 75:25 has three phases, which are MgFe2O4 with cubic structure, TiO2 with tetragonal structure, and Fe2O3 with hexagonal structure. This work indicated that the sol-gel method could synthesize composite structures, and the sample may be used to remove methylene blue.