Facile light-assisted preparation of reusable magnetic Fe3O4@SiO2@Chitosan composite for adsorption of dyes.

Magnetic composites have been widely used in the area of wastewater treatment, which own the properties of simple and quick adsorption and separation functions. This article presented a cost-effective and chemically modified adsorbent (Fe₃O₄@SiO₂@Chitosan) based on a novel facile light-assisted technique for methyl orange (MO) removal. The characterization results of FT-IR, TEM, XRD and the hysteresis loop showed that Fe₃O₄@SiO₂@Chitosan was successfully prepared. The adsorption properties of the magnetic Fe₃O₄@SiO₂@Chitosan composite had been discussed in detail. Results show that the magnetic composite was able to remove more than 99.15% of dyes in water under optimized conditions. The Fe₃O₄@SiO₂@Chitosan composite was stable and easily recovered, which demonstrated that the Fe₃O₄@SiO₂@Chitosan can be successfully used as a reusable absorbent for effective removal of methyl orange from wastewater. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]