The photo degradation of methyl red in aqueous solutions by α-Fe2O3/SiO2 nano photocatalyst

Abstract

The Photocatalytic degradation of chemical pollutants such as dyes, especially by Nano catalysts is an effective method to protect the environment and water resources. In this study, through Forced Hydrolysis and Reflux Condensation (FHRC) method the nanospherical α-Fe₂O₃ particles were synthesized and supported on the surface of silica sand by Solid-State Dispersion (SSD) method with the average crystallite size of 27.5 nm. The characterization of catalyst and catalyst support was done using FTIR spectroscopy, SEM images, XRD patterns and BET surface area.In this paper, α-Fe₂O₃/SiO₂ nano photocatalyst was used for the removal of methyl red (MR) under ultraviolet (UV) light. After running different tests, the effective parameters such as the concentration of MR, pH, and mass of catalyst on pollutant degradation were optimized by single-variable method. The results showed that the optimum conditions for achieving 98.46 % of degradation were pH at 5, initial concentration of MR at 10 mg/l, and 2.0 g of α-Fe₂O₃/SiO₂ nano photo catalyst.