Correlation of Physicochemical Properties with the Catalytic Performance of Fe-Doped Titanium Dioxide Powders
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Authors
Colleges, School and Institutes
External organisations
- Technical University of Cluj-Napoca
- University of Craiova, No. 13 Str. Al. I. Cuza
- National Institute for Research and Development in Microtechnologies, 126A Erou Iancu Nicolae Street
- National Institute for Research and Development of Isotopic and Molecular Technologies
Abstract
A simple method for synthesis of Fe-doped TiO2 nanocrystalline powders, namely by coprecipitation, is described in this study. The influence of the iron content on the structural, morphological, optical and photocatalytic properties is determined. On the basis of XRD analysis, it was observed that anatase crystalline phase of TiO2 was stabilized, and the deformation of the elemental cell and strain increase with increasing of iron content due to the substitution of Ti4+ with Fe3+. The substitution process and the interaction between titanium and iron ions was also confirmed from the shifting of the Raman fundamental vibration from 144 to 149 cm-1. The absorption spectra showed that the optical response of TiO2 was red-shifted and the optical energy band gap decreased in the case of low content of Fe, whereas at high content of iron (in this case 3.11%), the optical response is blue-shifted due to the quantum size effect. The photocatalytic performance of Fe-doped TiO2 materials was correlated with the optical energy band gap. Thus, the best photocatalytic performance was obtained for the sample that contains 1.48% iron because it displays the lowest energy band gap (2.79 eV), so the material can absorb radiation from the visible range, even if this sample presents the lowest surface area. The efficiency of the degradation of Methylene Blue dye, under exposure to low intensity ultraviolet and visible radiations was 39%. Based on the characterization and performance of the Fe-doped TiO2 materials, it was concluded that the optimal iron content for our studies was 1.48%.
Details
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 7346-7351 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research |
Volume | 54 |
Issue number | 30 |
Publication status | Published - 5 Aug 2015 |