Surfactants assisted SiO2-Cu@Fe2O3 nanofibers: Ultra efficient photocatalyst for photodegradation of organic compounds and transesterification of waste edible oil to biodiesel

Abstract The researchers are trying to synthesize such materials which have desirable stability, high efficiency and cost effective. In the present work, SiO 2-Cu@Fe2O3 nanofibers were synthesized by a novel protocol in which tween-80 and cetyltrimethylammonium bromide was used as a surfactant. The photodegradation of dyes and transesterification of waste edible oil to biodiesel had been investigated. Copper nanoparticles were relatively well dispersed over the surfaces of silica and iron oxide nanofibers with the diameter of 20 nm and Fe2O3 and SiO 2 composite mesopores with a high specific surface area (116 m2/g). Photocatalytic degradation of Methylene blue (MB) and rhodamine B (Rhod B) dyes has been tested against As-synthesized SiO 2-Cu@Fe2O3 nanostructures. At optimum processing conditions SiO 2-Cu@Fe2O3 displayed a far higher effectiveness of reaction and dyes degradation than many others. A comparative kinetic study of the reduction of dyes (MB and Rhod B) in the presence and absence of nanocatalyst shows the efficiency of synthesized SiO 2-Cu@Fe2O3. Furthermore, the reusability of the as-prepared composite was measured and there is no considerable catalytic activity loss even after 5 cycles. The efficiency of SiO 2-Cu@Fe2O3was tested both in light and dark. The visible light efficiency of SiO 2-Cu@Fe2O3 nanofibers against the said dyes were several time higher than in dark. The degradation patterns at a temperature range of 30 °C were so well equipped with a 1st order kinetic framework and proposed a dyes reaction mechanism. The synthesized nanofibers were also applied as a catalyst against transesterification of waste edible oil to biodiesel. The results indicated that 98% biodiesel production was obtained in a 7 h reaction time, and 70 °C reaction temperature. On the basis of the above high efficiency further research is required on the said nanofibers to investigate their hidden applications.