Heterogeneous photocatalysis is an attractive alternative route to enhance the degradation of environmental pollutants. In this work, we have fabricated Fe2TiO5/TiO2 binary nanocomposites using natural ilmenite via bottom up approach. Synthesized nanocomposites were characterized by X-ray diffractometry, X-ray fluorescence, transmission electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, diffuse reflectance UV–Visible spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. These nanoparticles are in the range of 40–70 ​nm and are of type I heterostructure with a band gap of 2.02 ​eV. They are sensitive to visible light and show higher photocatalytic activity under direct solar energy. Photocatalytic activity of Fe2TiO5/TiO2 was assessed using a model textile dye, methylene blue. Over a period of 2 ​h, 76% of methylene blue was photodegraded at a rate of 0.0084 min−1 in the presence of Fe2TiO5/TiO2.

Fabrication of Fe2TiO5/TiO2 binary nanocomposite from natural ilmenite and their photocatalytic activity under solar energy

A simple and novel technique for the preparation of anatase TiO2 nanopowders using natural ilmenite (FeTiO3) as the starting material is reported. Digesting ilmenite with concentrated H3PO4 under refluxing conditions yields a white α-titanium bismonohydrogen orthophosphate monohydrate (TOP), Ti(HPO4)2·H2O, which can be easily isolated via gravity separation from unreacted ilmenite. The addition of ammonia to the separated TOP followed by calcination at 500°C completes the preparation of anatase TiO2. Calcination at temperatures above 800°C converts the anatase form of TiO2 to the stable rutile phase. The removal of iron from ilmenite during the commercial production of synthetic TiO2 is problematic and environmentally unfriendly. In the present study, the removal of iron was found to be markedly simple due to the high solubility of iron phosphate species in concentrated H3PO4 with the precipitation of TOP. The titanium content of the prepared samples on metal basis with silica and phosphorous as major impurities was over 90%. Prepared TiO2 samples were characterized using X-ray fluorescence, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, ultraviolet-visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, and X-ray diffraction analyses. The photocatalytic potentials of the commercial and as-prepared TiO2 samples were assessed by the photodegradation of rhodamine B dye.

A simple and novel synthetic route to prepare anatase TiO 2 nanopowders from natural ilmenite via the H 3 PO 4 /NH 3 process

Objective is to investigate effect of preparation methods on crystal size at synthesis of Fe-doped TiO2 as a systematic review study. All references (455) were found by manual duplication and final...

Synthesis of Fe-Doped TiO2 for Photocatalytic Processes under UV-Visible Light: Effect of Preparation Methods on Crystal Size—A Systematic Review Study

We, for the first time report the development of a hybrid photocatalyst, HAp-TiO2-ZnO by co-integrating TiO2 and ZnO into host material hydroxyapatite (HAp). High temperature calcination of the ing...

Synthesis, Characterization and Efficiency of HAp-TiO2-ZnO Composite as a Promising Photocatalytic Material

The microemulsion method was successfully used to prepare a series of TiO2, Fe oxide and SiO2 doped TiO2 nanoparticles at Fe/Ti atomic ratio of 10% and Si/Ti atomic ratio of 15%. The molar ratio of water to surfactant (W0) was 2. The samples were calcinated at 350°C. The structural features of TiO2, Fe oxide and SiO2-TiO2 were investigated by XRD, UV-Visible spectroscopy, SEM and TEM. XRD data verified the formation of typical characteristic anatase form in all the prepared Fe and SiO2-doped TiO2 samples. In comparison with the pure TiO2, Fe oxide and SiO2-TiO2 samples were relatively large in particle size, indicating that doping with Fe oxide and SiO2 can help in increasing the particle size. The role of SiO2 and Fe oxide doping could be related to the reduction in bandgap of the titania particles; this, in turn, could increase the ability of the particles in absorbing photons with energy in the visible spectrum. The doping of highly stabilized SiO2, Fe oxide in the titania matrix lead to the significan...

M. Hossinie zari

Papers

Effect of Iron Oxide and Silica Doping on Microstructure, Bandgap and Photocatalytic Properties of Titania by Water-in-Oil Microemulsion Technique