Notice of Retraction: Photocatalytic Degradation of Organic Pollutant in Water by Iron Doped Mesoporous TiO2 Prepared via Modified Sol-Gel Process

Abstract

TiO2 photocatalysis technology has been widely used in environmental remediation, especially for wastewater treatment technology. In this paper, Fe3+ doped mesoporous TiO2 was prepared via modified sol-gel process using MCM-41 as hard template. The photocatalytic activities of prepared samples were tested in the degradation of an aqueous solution of a reactive dyestuff, methylene blue, under visible light. The obtained samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction, N2 adsorption, FT-IR, and UV-Vis spectroscopy. The prepared Fe3+ doped TiO2 was pure anatase phase when the calcination temperature below 700°C. The Ti-O-Si bond formed between TiO2 and MCM-41 fixed the TiO2 on the MCM-41 surface which restricted the agglomeration and growth of the TiO2 particles. Fe3+ was doped by replacing the Ti4+ in TiO2 lattice, which introduced a new energy level (Fe3+/Fe4+) into the band gap, thus increased the absorption in visible light region. The addition of MCM-41 during the preparation procedure greatly improved the photocatalytic activity of prepared TiO2 catalysts. The calcination temperature played an important role in affecting the photocatalytic activity.