Synthesis of flower-like α-Fe2O3 and its application in wastewater treatment

The removal of arsenic from aqueous solution is crucial to human health and environmental pollution. Herein, flower-like alpha-Fe2O3 nanostructures were synthesized via a template-free microwave-assisted solvothermal technique, and were applied as adsorbents for the removal of arsenic (As(V)) from aqueous solutions. The results indicated that the synthesized flower-like alpha-Fe2O3 showed excellent sorption properties and had a maximum sorption capacity of 47.64 mg/g for As(V). Meanwhile, the experimental results of photodegradation of methylene blue (MB) indicated that the as-synthesized flower-like alpha-Fe2O3 exhibited very high photocatalytic performance for the photodegradation of MB and that the as-obtained flower-like alpha-Fe2O3 nanostructures were suitable materials in wastewater treatment.