Efficient photocatalytic degradation of methyl orange dye using facilely synthesized α-Fe2O3 nanoparticles

In this paper, α-Fe2O3 nanoparticles were fabricated via the combustion process using glucose and sucrose as organic fuels for the first time. The fabricated products were characterized using XRD, FT-IR, HR-TEM, and UV–vis spectrophotometer. The average crystallite size of the α-Fe2O3 samples, which were synthesized using glucose and sucrose fuels, is 27.25 and 6.13 nm, respectively. The HR-TEM images confirmed the presence of spherical and irregular shapes with an average diameter of 31.92 and 8.83 nm for the α-Fe2O3 samples, which were synthesized using glucose and sucrose fuels, respectively. The optical energy gap of the α-Fe2O3 samples, which were synthesized using glucose and sucrose fuels, is 2.00 and 2.48 eV, respectively. Additionally, the synthesized α-Fe2O3 samples were employed as a photocatalyst for the degradation of methyl orange dye under UV irradiations in the absence and presence of hydrogen peroxide. The optimum pH, irradiation time, and dose of α-Fe2O3 that achieved the highest degradation efficiency in the presence of hydrogen peroxide (82.17 % in the case of using an α-Fe2O3 sample which was synthesized using glucose or 95.31 % in the case of using an α-Fe2O3 sample which was synthesized using sucrose) are 3, 100 min, and 0.05 g, respectively.