Fe-doped ZnO Supported with Montmorillonite: Synthesis, Characterization, and Photocatalytic Activity

Abstract

In this study, Fe-doped ZnO/MMT has been prepared by using co-precipitation method with the various amount of MMT (10, 20, 30, and 40 wt%). The samples were characterized by using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy, and (FTIR), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area analysis. The crystallite structure of ZnO did not change with the additional of dopant and MMT. The presence of MMT could be confirmed by using FTIR, which showed the bending vibration and stretching vibration of Si-O-Al and Si-O-Si. The degradation of methylene blue and methyl orange were examined by using montmorillonite (MMT) modified Fe-doped ZnO catalyst in photocatalytic process under UV light irradiation. The photocatalytic results indicated that certain amount of MMT could increase photocatalytic performance in degrading methylene blue and methyl orange. Methylene blue degradation increased with the increasing of pH value while the opposite trend occurred for methyl orange degradation.