A practical pathway for the preparation of Fe2O3 decorated TiO2 photocatalyst with enhanced visible-light photoactivity

Shifting the ultra-violet of titania to visible light driven photocatalysis can be realized by coupling with metallic or non-metallic elements. However, time-consuming multi-step process and significant loss of UV photocatalytic activity of such TiO 2 -based photocatalysts severely hinder their practical applications. In this work, we explore the idea of creating a practical method for the preparation of Fe 2 O 3 decorated TiO 2 (TiO 2 /Fe 2 O 3 ) photocatalyst with controlled visible-light photoactivity. This method only involves the calcination of the mixture (commercial P25 powders and magnetic Fe 3 O 4 nanoparticles) prepared by a mechanical process. The morphology and properties of TiO 2 /Fe 2 O 3 composites were characterized by Transmission electron microscope , X-ray diffraction, UV–vis spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Results confirm the fusion of TiO 2 and Fe 2 O 3 , which promotes photo-generated electrons/holes migration and separation. Because of the strong synergistic effect, the as-synthesized TiO 2 /Fe 2 O 3 composites manifest an enhanced visible-light photocatalytic activity. Especially, the TiO 2 /Fe 2 O 3 photocatalyst is very easy to be constructed via an one-step protocol that efficiently overcomes the time-consuming multi-step processes used in existed strategies for the preparation of Fe 2 O 3 /TiO 2 photocatalysts, providing a new insight into the practical application of TiO 2 /Fe 2 O 3 visible light photocatalyst.