Loading of alkaline hydroxide nanoparticles on the surface of Fe2O3 for the promotion of photocatalytic activity

This study focused on surface modification of iron oxide (Fe2O3) by loading alkaline oxide nanoparticles to investigate the effect of surface interactions on photocatalytic activity of this material. Fe2O3 was loaded by NaOH, KOH, and CsOH, with 0.05, 0.1, 0.4, and 1 wt% by impregnation method. The photocatalytic evaluation was carried out in a gas phase for degradation of Iso-Propyl alcohol (IPA) to acetone. The prepared samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction, UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy SEM. The photocatalytic evaluation resulted the photoactivity of Fe2O3 increases to an optimum extent by loading of alkaline hydroxides on the surface. The enhancement of photoactivity of Fe2O3 after loading can be attributed to the surface chemical reactions and transfer of photogenerated electrons from the conduction band of Fe2O3 to alkaline nanoparticles. Also, multi-electron oxygen reduction is another way supposed to facilitate the photocatalytic reaction.