Synthesis of Magnetic Ferrocene-Containing Polymer with Photothermal Effects for Rapid Degradation of Methylene Blue.

Photothermal materials are attracting more and more attention. In this research, we synthesized a ferrocene-containing polymer with magnetism and photothermal properties. The resulting polymer was characterized by Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR), vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM), scanning electron microscope (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Its photo-thermocatalytic activity was investigated by choosing methylene blue (MB) as a model compound. The degradation percent of MB under an irradiated 808 nm laser reaches 99.5% within 15 min, and the degradation rate is 0.5517 min, which is 145 times more than that of room temperature degradation. Under irradiation with simulated sunlight, the degradation rate is 0.0092 min, which is approximately 2.5 times more than that of room temperature degradation. The present study may open up a feasible route to degrade organic pollutants.