Facile synthesis of α-Fe2O3 nanodisk with superior photocatalytic performance and mechanism insight. Issue 1 (February 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Huang, Yang; Ding, Dahu; Zhu, Minshen; Meng, Wenjun; Huang, Yan; Geng, Fengxia; Li, Jie; Lin, Jing; Tang, Chengchun; Lei, Zhongfang; Zhang, Zhenya; Zhi, Chunyi
• Is Part Of: Science and technology of advanced materials. Volume 16:Issue 1(2015)
• Page Start: 1286
• Publication Date: 2015-02
• Subjects: Materials -- Technological innovations -- Periodicals; 620.112
• DOI: 10.1088/1468-6996/16/1/014801
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1468-6996

Abstract

<abstract> <title>Abstract</title> <p>Intrinsic short hole diffusion length is a well-known problem for <italic>α</italic>-Fe₂O₃ as a visible-light photocatalytic material. In this paper, a nanodisk morphology was designed to remarkably enhance separation of electron-hole pairs of <italic>α</italic>-Fe₂O₃. As expected, <italic>α</italic>-Fe₂O₃ nanodisks presented superior photocatalytic activity toward methylene blue degradation: more than 90% of the dye could be photodegraded within 30 min in comparison with a degradation efficiency of 50% for conventional Fe₂O₃ powder. The unique multilayer structure is thought to play a key role in the remarkably improved photocatalytic performance. Further experiments involving mechanism investigations revealed that instead of high surface area, ·OH plays a crucial role in methylene blue degradation and that O^·2− may also contribute effectively to the degradation process. This paper demonstrates a facile and energy-saving route to fabricating homogenous <italic>α</italic>-Fe₂O₃ nanodisks with superior photocatalytic activity that is suitable for the treatment of contaminated water and that meets the requirement of mass production.</p> </abstract>