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. 2020 Sep 2;7(9):200708.
doi: 10.1098/rsos.200708. eCollection 2020 Sep.

Photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue under natural sunlight using iron titanate nanoparticles prepared by a modified sol-gel method

Z Z Vasiljevic  1 , M P Dojcinovic  2 , J D Vujancevic  1 , I Jankovic-Castvan  3 , M Ognjanovic  4 , N B Tadic  5 , S Stojadinovic  5 , G O Brankovic  2 , M V Nikolic  2
Affiliations

Photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue under natural sunlight using iron titanate nanoparticles prepared by a modified sol-gel method

Z Z Vasiljevic et al. R Soc Open Sci. .

Abstract

The aim of this work was to synthesize semiconducting oxide nanoparticles using a simple method with low production cost to be applied in natural sunlight for photocatalytic degradation of pollutants in waste water. Iron titanate (Fe2TiO5) nanoparticles with an orthorhombic structure were successfully synthesized using a modified sol-gel method and calcination at 750°C. The as-prepared Fe2TiO5 nanoparticles exhibited a moderate specific surface area. The mesoporous Fe2TiO5 nanoparticles possessed strong absorption in the visible-light region and the band gap was estimated to be around 2.16 eV. The photocatalytic activity was evaluated by the degradation of methylene blue under natural sunlight. The effect of parameters such as the amount of catalyst, initial concentration of the dye and pH of the dye solution on the removal efficiency of methylene blue was investigated. Fe2TiO5 showed high degradation efficiency in a strong alkaline medium that can be the result of the facilitated formation of OH radicals due to an increased concentration of hydroxyl ions.

Keywords: dye wastewater; iron titanate; methylene blue dye; photocatalytic degradation; sol–gel method.

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Conflict of interest statement

We declare we have no competing interests.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
X-ray diffraction pattern of synthesized Fe2TiO5 nanocrystalline powder and Rietveld analysis (a) and FT-IR transmittance spectrum of Fe2TiO5 nanocrystalline powder; inset: crystal structure was drawn using VESTA [17] (b).
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
FESEM, magnification 50 000 (a), TEM images (b) magnification 25 000, (d) magnification 50 000 and HRTEM and FFT images (c) magnification 500 000 of Fe2TiO5 powder.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Nitrogen adsorption–desorption isotherms (a) and BET pore size distribution curves (b) for Fe2TiO5 powder.
Figure 4.
Figure 4.
Tauc plot for estimation of direct (a) and indirect (b) band gaps of Fe2TiO5 powder; measured diffuse reflectance spectrum, inset (a), absorbance obtained by Kubelka–Munk approximation, inset (b).
Figure 5.
Figure 5.
Photoluminescence spectrum measured with 270 nm excitation wavelength (a) and zeta potential (b) determined for Fe2TiO5 nanoparticles.
Figure 6.
Figure 6.
Effect of initial photocatalyst dose on the degradation of MB (a) and percentage removal of MB (b).
Figure 7.
Figure 7.
Efficiency of removal of MB—effect of the initial pH on the degradation of MB (a) and pseudo-first-order kinetics curves of the degradation of MB under sunlight in the presence of Fe2TiO5 with different initial pH values (b). Experimental conditions: Fe2TiO5 50 mg l−1 and MB 10 mg l−1.
Figure 8.
Figure 8.
Scheme of the band gap structure of Fe2TiO5 and the possible mechanism for the photocatalytic degradation of MB dye over Fe2TiO5 photocatalyst.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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