Synthesis and characterization of porous TiO2 film decorated with bilayer hematite thin film for effective photocatalytic activity

Abstract

• Fe 2 O 3 was successfully deposited onto porous TiO 2 by simple and developed electrochemicaltechnique. • TiO 2 /bilayer hematite film has good stability and the high specific surface area. • The as-prepared porous photocatalysts Fe 2 O 3 /TiO 2 show high visible light photoactivities for the degradation of the methylene blue dye. In this work, porous TiO 2 film decorated with bilayer hematite (nanoparticles/nanorods) were synthesized via the electrodeposition technique followed by hydrothermal treatment. Structural and morphological properties of the TiO 2 /bilayer hematite films were determined by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Also with energy dispersive X-ray spectral (EDS), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Due to its good stability and the high specific surface area, TiO 2 /bilayer hematite film, as a potential absorber film, can be applied to enhance organic dye degradation. The photodegradation of the porous, thin film trijunction was remarkable under visible light and normal pH.