Photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue by nanostructured Fe/FeS powder under visible light

Hassan Esmaili; Amir Kotobi; Saeed Sheibani; Fereshteh Rashchi

doi:10.1007/s12613-018-1567-x

Volume 25 Issue 2

Feb. 2018

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Article Navigation > International Journal of Minerals, Metallurgy and Materials > 2018 > 25(2): 244-252

Hassan Esmaili, Amir Kotobi, Saeed Sheibani, and Fereshteh Rashchi, Photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue by nanostructured Fe/FeS powder under visible light, Int. J. Miner. Metall. Mater., 25(2018), No. 2, pp. 244-252. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12613-018-1567-x

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Hassan Esmaili, Amir Kotobi, Saeed Sheibani, and Fereshteh Rashchi, Photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue by nanostructured Fe/FeS powder under visible light, Int. J. Miner. Metall. Mater., 25(2018), No. 2, pp. 244-252. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12613-018-1567-x

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Research Article

Photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue by nanostructured Fe/FeS powder under visible light

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Corresponding author:
Saeed Sheibani E-mail: ssheibani@ut.ac.ir
Received: 23 May 2017; Revised: 27 July 2017; Accepted: 28 July 2017

Abstract

Abstract

The photocatalytic performance of mechano-thermally synthesized Fe/FeS nanostructures formed from micron-sized starting materials was compared with that of a thermally synthesized nanostructure with nano-sized precursors in this paper. The properties of as-synthesized materials were studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM), diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), and ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy. The effects of irradiation time, methylene blue (MB) concentration, catalyst dosage, and pH value upon the degradation of MB were studied. Magnetic properties of the samples showed that both as-synthesized Fe/FeS photocatalysts are magnetically recoverable, eliminating the need for conventional filtration steps. Degradation of 5 ppm of the MB solution by mechano-thermally synthesized Fe/FeS with a photocatalyst dosage of 1 kg/m³ at pH 11 can reach 96% after 12 ks irradiation under visible light. The photocatalytic efficiency is higher in alkaline solution. The kinetics of photocatalytic degradation in both samples is controlled by a first-order reaction. However, the rate-constant value in the thermally synthesized Fe/FeS photocatalyst sample is only 1.5 times greater than that of the mechano-thermally synthesized one.
- photocatalytic degradation;
- iron sulfide;
- nanoparticles;
- kinetics;
- methylene blue;
- visible light

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