Hydrophilic Fe ₃ O ₄ nanoparticles prepared by ferrocene as high-efficiency heterogeneous Fenton catalyst for the degradation of methyl orange

Hydrophilic Fe ₃ O ₄ nanoparticles were prepared with ferrocene as an iron source via the thermal decomposition method and their catalytic response towards methyl orange was investigated. The effects of the pH, temperature, H ₂ O ₂ dosage, catalyst dosage and initial dye concentration on the degradation of methyl orange were researched in detail. Furthermore, the stability of the catalyst was evaluated by measuring the degradation rate in eight successive cycles. The study demonstrates that methyl orange can be completely degraded i.e., a 99% degratation rate was obtained within 3 min. This excellent catalytic activity is attributed to the small size and good dispersibility of the nanoparticles, which stimulate the rapid and massive generation of reactive oxygen species in the heterogeneous Fenton reaction. In addition, the magnetic separation of the catalyst offers great prospects for fast and economical decontamination of dye polluted water.