Visible Light Assisted Photocatalytic Degradation of Chromium (VI) by Using Nanoporous Fe2O3

Abstract

A Fe2O3 nanoporous structure was prepared by using hydrothermal route; its physicochemical properties were effectively characterized using XRF, BET, FT-IR, VSM, SEM and EDX, DLS, XRD, and PL techniques. The surface area of the magnetic nanoporous structure Fe2O3 was higher than the normally synthesized Fe2O3 nanoparticle. The outcome of the photocatalytic removal of the chromium (VI) below the visible light irradiation confirmed that 82.11% of Cr(VI) was degraded by the Fe2O3 nanomaterials at 120 min of irradiation time. The improved photocatalytic activity of the nanoparticle was ascribed to efficient electron-hole separation. Fe2O3 was set up to be a tough and constant photocatalyst throughout recycling experiments. The conceivable mechanism for the electron-hole separation process on the heterojunction was probable. The synthesized samples own low band gap energy and a hollow structure appropriate for the improved photocatalytic activity. The toxicity of the samples was measured by using Mus musculus skin melanoma cells (B16-F10 (ATCC®, CRL-6475TM) which are set up to be safe for human cells; as a result, this systematic approach provides a better alternative upconversion material for integral photoabsorption.