Vol.:(0123456789) 1 3 Topics in Catalysis https://doi.org/10.1007/s11244-020-01294-z ORIGINAL PAPER Visibly Active FeO/ZnO@PANI Magnetic Nano‑photocatalyst for the Degradation of 3‑Aminophenol Shweta Sharma 1  · Gaurav Sharma 1,2  · Amit Kumar 1,2  · Mu. Naushad 3  · Genene Tessema Mola 4  · Anuj Kumar 1  · Fahad A. Al‑Misned 5  · Hamed A. El‑Serehy 5  · Florian J. Stadler 2 © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2020 Abstract The water management sector is becoming extremely challenging these days because of poor water quality which is due to the presence of noxious pollutants at an alarming level. Herein, we report the synthesis of FeO/ZnO magnetic metal oxide (FZ MMO) and its nanocomposite with polyaniline (FZP). Designed photocatalyst has been characterized by various tech- niques such as X-Ray difractometer (XRD), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM), Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Fourier transform infrared spectrophotometer (FTIR). Bandgap values as determined using Tauc plots has been found to be 2.46 and 1.80 eV for FZ MMO and FZP, respectively. Photocatalytic activ- ity of FZ MMO and FZP under visible light irradiations has been studied for degradation of 3-aminophenol. The infuence of adsorption on the degradation rate has also been studied. 92% of 3-aminophenol present in the solution was removed in 120 min using FZP under visible light. Thus present study gives a deep insight for the designing of highly photocatalytic and reusable photocatalyst that can be utilized for the removal of various pollutants from the water system. * Gaurav Sharma gaurav8777@gmail.com * Amit Kumar mittuchem83@gmail.com 1 School of Chemistry, Shoolini University, Solan, Himachal Pradesh 173212, India 2 College of Materials Science and Engineering, Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Polymer Science and Technology, Guangdong Research Center for Interfacial Engineering of Functional Materials, Nanshan District Key Lab. for Biopolymers and Safety Evaluation, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518055, People’s Republic of China 3 Department of Chemistry, College of Science, King Saud University, Bld.#5, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia 4 School of Chemistry & Physics, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg Campus, Private Bag X01, Scottsville 3209, South Africa 5 Department of Zoology, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia