The photo degradation of methyl red in aqueous solutions by α-Fe2O3/SiO2 nano photocatalyst
Majid Saghi
1
(
Young Researchers and Elite Club, Arak Branch, Islamic Azad University, Arak, Iran
)
Aref Shokri
2
(
Young Researchers and Elite Club, Arak Branch, Islamic Azad University, Arak, Iran
)
Ali Arastehnodeh
3
(
Department of Chemical Engineering, Quchan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Quchan, Iran
)
Mohammad Khazaeinejad
4
(
Department of Chemistry, Mashhad Branch, Islamic Azad University, Mashhad, Iran
)
Atena Nozari
5
(
Young Researchers and Elite Club, Quchan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Quchan, Iran
)
Keywords: Methyl red, Solid-State Dispersion (SSD) method, nanophotocatalyst, &alpha, -Fe2O3/SiO2,
Abstract :
The Photocatalytic degradation of chemical pollutants such as dyes, especially by Nano catalysts is an effective method to protect the environment and water resources. In this study, through Forced Hydrolysis and Reflux Condensation (FHRC) method the nanospherical α-Fe2O3 particles were synthesized and supported on the surface of silica sand by Solid-State Dispersion (SSD) method with the average crystallite size of 27.5 nm. The characterization of catalyst and catalyst support was done using FTIR spectroscopy, SEM images, XRD patterns and BET surface area. In this paper, α-Fe2O3/SiO2 nanophotocatalyst was used for the removal of methyl red (MR) under ultraviolet (UV) light. After running different tests, the effective parameters such as the concentration of MR, pH, and mass of catalyst on pollutant degradation were optimized by single-variable method. The results showed that the optimum conditions for achieving 98.46 % of degradation were pH at 5, initial concentration of MR at 10 mg/l, and 2.0 g of α-Fe2O3/SiO2 nano photo catalyst.