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Ternay Au@TiO2/α-Fe2O3 Nanocomposite with Nanoring Structure: Synthesis, Characterization and Photocatalytic Activity

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Abstract

In the present study, a modified solvothermal reaction of (hematite) with titanium(IV) butoxide and gold(III) chloride produced ternary Au@TiO2/α-Fe2O3 nanocomposite. The designed Au@TiO2/α-Fe2O3 photocatalyst exhibits nanoring-like structure with high crystallinity indicating the possibility of manufacturing extreme structures and offering a new nanostructure that was not previously studied. Both TiO2 and Au nanoparticles (NPs) were found to be dispersed uniformly on the α-Fe2O3 surface. X-ray diffraction powder technique combined with X-ray photoelectron (XPS) and Raman spectroscopy confirm the formation of the three materials with cubic Au, anatase TiO2 and hematite α-Fe2O3 structures, respectively. The photocatalytic activity proves the performance of this ternary heterojunction to decomposes different pollutants. It was found that, TiO2 absorbs UV-light, α-Fe2O3 absorbs both UV and Visible light and plasmonic gold NPs work as an electron mediator and therefore exhalt the photocatalytic efficiency of the ternary Au@TiO2/α-Fe2O3 photocatalyst. The present work delivers a novel perception to develop a stable photocatalyst based metal oxide/noble-metal hetero-nanostructure for the degradation of different types of pollutants in the industrial zones.

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Acknowledgements

This research was funded by the University of Taif, Saudia Arabia, Deanship of Scientific Research, Project No. 1-439-6069.

Funding

Taif University, Grant/Award Number: 1-439-6069.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry, College of Science, Taif University, P.O. Box 11099, Taif, 21944, Saudi Arabia

    Amine Mezni, Mohamed M. Ibrahim, Nesrine Ben Saber, Mohammed Alsawat & Tariq Altalhi

  2. Faculté des Sciences de Bizerte, LR18 ES11, Laboratoire des composés hétéro-organiques et des matériaux nanostructurés, Université de Carthage, 7021, Zarzouna, Tunisie

    Nesrine Ben Saber

  3. School of Pharmacy, Pharmacy Australia Center of Excellence, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia

    Tushar Kumeria

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  1. Amine Mezni
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  2. Mohamed M. Ibrahim
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  4. Mohammed Alsawat
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Correspondence to Amine Mezni.

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Mezni, A., Ibrahim, M.M., Ben Saber, N. et al. Ternay Au@TiO2/α-Fe2O3 Nanocomposite with Nanoring Structure: Synthesis, Characterization and Photocatalytic Activity. J Inorg Organomet Polym 31, 4372–4379 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10904-021-02033-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10904-021-02033-x

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