Chem. J. Chinese Universities ›› 2010, Vol. 31 ›› Issue (4): 662.

• Articles • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Preparation of Magnetic Fe2O3-TiO2 Nanocomposite and Its Photocatalytic Activity Under Visible Light Irradition

LI Xiu-Ying, WANG Jing-Yu, WANG Xiao-Yu, SU Dan, HAN Xi-Jiang*, DU Yun-Chen   

  1. Chemistry Laboratory Center, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, China
  • Received:2009-04-23 Online:2010-04-10 Published:2010-04-10
  • Contact: HAN Xi-Jiang. E-mail: hanxj63@yahoo.com.cn
  • Supported by:

    国家自然科学基金(批准号: 20776032)资助.

Abstract:

The composite photocatalysts of Fe2O3-TiO2 were prepared using FeCl3 and Ti(C4H9O)4 as precursors by sol-gel method. The photocatalysts were characterized by means of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS), X-ray diffraction(XRD), scanning electron microscopy(SEM), and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy(EDS), and nitrogen adsorption-desorption isotherms using the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller(BET) method. The results show that the composite consists of pure anatase TiO2 and Fe2O3 with a diameter of about 15 nm. The photocatalytic activity of the Fe2O3-TiO2 composite was confirmed through the photodegradation of methyl blue dye under visible light irradiation(λ>420 nm). The experimental results show that the composite photocatalysts have highly enhanced the photocatalytic efficiency in visible region when compared with each of the two pure semiconductor. The removal rate could reach the highest value under the molar fraction of Fe at 1.0 %. More importantly, the magnetic properties are measured using a vibrating sample magnetometer, and the results show that the Fe2O3-TiO2 photocatalyst could be separated from the solution in magnetic field after reaction and then could be recycled.

Key words: Fe2O3-TiO2; Nanocomposite; Visible light; Magnetic separation

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