Synthesis and characterization of micro-/nano-α-Fe₂O₃ for photocatalytic dye degradation

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Photocatalytic activity using micro-/nano-α-Fe₂O₃ on a large scale was carried out using a sol-gel autocombustion method. A degradation time of 60 min was noted for 50 mg of the catalyst. Post characterization, this catalyst system showed a degradation of about 53% (rate = 2.60 × 10⁻³ min⁻¹) and 17% (rate = 1.38 × 10⁻² min⁻¹) under sunlight and up to 45% (rate = 1.13 × 10⁻³ min⁻¹) and 7% (rate = 1.20 × 10⁻² min⁻¹) under a 400 W UV lamp for rhodamine 6G (R6G) and crystal violet (CV), respectively. Sunlight has a broad spectrum of light; it greatly accelerates the degradation process and creates ideal conditions for the reaction to occur. The rate of photocatalytic dye degradation of α-Fe₂O₃ without Fenton's reagent was found to be 7.84 × 10⁻³ min⁻¹ in the presence of external air provided (in the photocatalytic setup) through a bubbler and 3.23 × 10⁻³ min⁻¹ in the absence of the bubbler.