Infrared‐Driven Perovskite LaFeO ₃ Synthesized From Iron Scraps for Advanced Photocatalytic Remediation of C.I. Reactive Blue 281

Water is a substantial part of our life. Every living being is dependent on water for its daily activities. However, the measurement of contaminants in water is escalating, and one of the crucial reasons is because of the usage of dyes. Perovskite ferrites are one of the majorly used catalysts for photocatalytic activities. In this study, firstly, we have scraped rust from waste metal scraps and then extracted it (Fe 3+ ) which was later converted into ferric nitrate. Then, we have synthesized LaFeO 3 from the prepared ferric nitrate and lanthanum nitrate using the hydrothermal method. Structural characterization by XRD confirmed phase‐pure perovskite formation (JCPDS 37‐1493); TEM analysis revealed well‐defined quasi‐spherical crystallites with high crystallinity, while XRF revealed the elemental composition of La 2 O 3 and Fe 2 O 3 . Further, the experimentation was carried out with photocatalytic activity by using an infrared (IR) lamp (150 W heat lamp) positioned at 15 cm to degrade C.I. Reactive Blue 281 dye with varying catalyst concentrations for a stipulated time of 50 min with continuous magnetic stirring. The results show that as the concentration of catalyst suspended in dye water increased, the percentage of degradation escalated simultaneously, achieving 72.58%, 84.38%, 91.19%, and 97.76% removal for 10, 30, 70, and 100 mg/100 mL dosages, respectively, within 50 min. Kinetic analysis revealed pseudo‐first‐order behavior with rate constants increasing from 0.0132 to 0.0394 min −1 and strong linear correlation ( R 2 > 0.98). The catalyst retained over 81% efficiency after five consecutive cycles, confirming good photostability and reusability. The study demonstrates that IR‐driven LaFeO 3 synthesized from waste‐derived iron offers a low‐energy, sustainable, and highly efficient approach for textile dye remediation.