Bimodal mesoporous α-Fe2O3/SiO2 composite: A highly efficient heterogeneous solar-driven photo-Fenton catalyst

Abstract

In recent years, an extensive research interest has been focused on photo-Fenton catalysis for oxidative degradation of wide range of organic pollutants including non-biodegradable organic dyes in industrial effluents. The present article demonstrates formerly unexplored, an easy wet chemical, soft template assisted sol-gel approach for the synthesis of bimodal mesoporous α-Fe2O3/SiO2 composite for its application as a photo-Fenton catalyst. In this synthesis, a combination of non-surfactant template tartaric acid and an anionic surfactant sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) have been employed which produce two different pore dimensions of 3.1 nm and 5.1 nm in the mesoporous composite. The synthesized mesoporous α-Fe2O3/SiO2 composite has surface area as high as 127 m2/g. It exhibits an excellent photo-Fenton dye degradation under natural daylight in an optimized strategy in presence of minimal concentration of H2O2. Thus, the developed mesoporous α-Fe2O3/SiO2 composite is likely to be an inexpensive alternative heterogeneous photo-Fenton catalyst for dye degradation under natural daylight and for wastewater treatment.