Controllable synthesis of rhombohedral α-Fe2O3 efficient for photocatalytic degradation of bisphenol A

One-step controllable synthesis of rhombohedral α-Fe 2 O 3 photocatalyst has been successfully developed by P123 soft template assisted method. A combination analysis of XRD, BET, SEM and HRTEM has documented that P123 surfactant plays a crucial role in the controllable synthesis of rhombohedral α-Fe 2 O 3 with the exposure of (110) and (012). The as-obtained α-Fe 2 O 3 material is efficient for the photocatalytic degradation of Bisphenol A (BPA). About 91% of BPA (30 mg/L) was degraded by using 1 g/L α-Fe 2 O 3 within 6 h under the simulated sunlight irradiation, which was almost twice higher than that of commercial Fe 2 O 3 . More importantly, reaction intermediates (e.g., 4, 4′-methylenediphenol, phenol and lactic acid) were confirmed by LC–MS/MS analysis, and the rational pathway of BPA degradation was finally proposed.