Abstract
In this work, TiO2 nanorod (NR) and Fe2O3/TiO2 NR thin films for removing organic contaminant in wastewater by employing photocatalytic process were studied. The films were fabricated by hydrothermal method and were characterized by various methods. Structural and surface morphology of samples were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Chemical bonding and chemical species were analyzed by energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Moreover, the electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), chopped-light voltammetry (CLV) and photoluminescence (PL) were also investigated. The photocatalytic performance of thin films were tested by Rhodamine B (RhB) degradation under UV light irradiation. Under testing area of 4 cm2, RhB suspended in water was degraded by 30% and 63% by TiO2 and Fe2O3/TiO2 thin film, respectively. The performance increase is due to the Fe2O3/TiO2 heterostructure had faster response to the UV light and had longer charge carrier lifetimes than the pristine TiO2. In addition, the stability of film was also studied. After 3 cycles of uses, the efficiency of RhB degradation was decreased by 28% when compared to the first usage.
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