DyMnO3/Fe2O3 nanocomposites: simple sol-gel auto-combustion technique and photocatalytic performance for water treatment

Recently, nanocomposite photocatalysts based on semiconductors have drawn consideration due to their suitable bandgap. Combination of tow of several semiconductors can slow down the electron-hole recombination. For this purpose, we have introduced DyMnO3/Fe2O3 nanocomposite as a novel and efficient catalyst for water purification. For this regard, DyMnO3/Fe2O3 nanocomposite has been fabricated by a simple and green sol-gel auto-combustion technique. The impact of calcination temperature, time, and types of fuel was investigated on morphology, structure, and purity of the products. The samples were identified by XRD, FTIR, FESEM, HRTEM, BET, and DRS. The bandgap was calculated by DRS to be 3.20 and 3.28 eV for Fe2O3 and DyMnO3. Due to the appropriate bandgap, DyMnO3/Fe2O3 degraded 80% of methylene blue under UV light. The future aspects of the DyMnO3/Fe2O3 application can be applied in thermoelectric materials, solid fuel cells, electrochemical gas sensors, and electrochemical biosensors.