Comparative Study of Improvement of Hematite as Visible Light-Driven Photocatalyst by Doping with Zinc and Copper

Abstract

The low cost, earth abundance, nontoxic, and efficient photocatalysts materials have a critical role in order to solve environmental issues. In this regard, hematite (?-Fe2O3) has received significant attention due to its desirable properties. In the present study, zinc-doped and copper-doped hematite nanoparticles were synthesized by the hydrothermal method. The photocatalytic features of produced nanopowders were investigated. The evaluations of photocatalytic activities of synthesized nanoparticles were executed by monitoring the degradation rate of Rhodamine B (RhB) under the solar simulator in heterogeneous photocatalysis. Compared to commercial Degussa TiO2 powder, the transition metal doped hematite (?-Fe2O3) samples showed better photocatalytic activities against RhB under the solar simulator. It was observed that even though there were no significant differences in their characteristic properties strongly affecting photocatalytic activity such as morphological features, optical absorption characteristics, and band gaps, Cu-doped ?-Fe2O3 nanoparticles exhibited higher photocatalytic activity, which is %20 higher than the Zn-doped ?-Fe2O3. The synthesized Cu-doped hematite nanoparticles are hopeful materials as a visible-light-driven photocatalytic material to degrade organic pollutants in aquatic media.