Iron oxide nanocatalyst with titanium and silver nanoparticles: Synthesis, characterization and photocatalytic activity on the degradation of Rhodamine B dye
Pâmela Cristine Ladwig Muraro, Sérgio Roberto Mortari, Bruno Stefanello Vizzotto, Gabriela Pereira Chuy, Cristiane dos Santos, Luís Fernando Wentz Brum, William Leonardo da Silva
Abstract
Abstract Nowadays, there is a growing concern about the environmental impacts of colored wastewater. Thus, the present work aims the synthesis, characterization and determination of photocatalytic activity of iron oxide (Fe 2 O 3 ) nanocatalyst, evaluating the effect of hybridization with titanium (TiNPs-Fe 2 O 3 ) and silver (AgNPs-Fe 2 O 3 ) nanoparticles, on the degradation of Rhodamine B dye (RhB). Nanocatalysts were characterized by XRD, SEM, TEM, FTIR, N 2 porosimetry (BET/BJH method), zeta potential and DRS. Photocatalytic tests were performed in a slurry reactor, with the nanocatalyst in suspension, using RhB as a target molecule, under ultraviolet (UV) and visible radiation. Therefore, the photocatalytic activity of the nanocatalysts (non-doped and hybridized) was evaluated in these ideal conditions, where the AgNPs-Fe 2 O 3 sample showed the best photocatalytic activity with a degradation of 94.1% (k = 0.0222 min −1 , under UV) and 58.36% (k = 0.007 min −1 , under visible), while under the same conditions, the TiO 2 -P25 commercial catalyst showed a degradation of 61.5% (k = 0.0078 min −1 ) and 44.5% (k = 0.0044 min −1 ), respectively. According with the ideal conditions determined, reusability of the AgNPs-Fe 2 O 3 nanocatalyst was measured, showing a short reduction (about 8%) of its photocatalytic activity after 5 cycles. Thus, the Fe 2 O 3 nanocatalyst can be considered a promising catalyst in the heterogeneous photocatalysis for application in the degradation of organic dyes in aqueous solution.