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Synthesis of mesoporous Ag/α-Fe2O3/TiO2 heterostructures with enhanced and accelerated photo/-catalytic reduction of 4-nitrophenol

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Abstract

4-Nitrophenol (4-NP) is reported to originate disadvantageous effects on the human body collected from industrial pollutants; therefore, the detoxification of 4-NP in aqueous contamination is strongly recommended. In this study, the heterojunction mesoporous α-Fe2O3/TiO2 modulated with diverse Ag percentages has been constructed via a sol–gel route in the occurrence of a soft template P123. The formation of biphasic crystalline TiO2 anatase and brookite phases has been successfully achieved with the average 10 nm particle sizes. The photo/-catalytic reduction of 4-NP has been performed utilizing NaBH4 as a reducing agent with and without visible illumination. All Ag/Fe2O3/TiO2 nanocomposites exhibited significantly higher photo/-catalytic reduction efficiency than pure Fe2O3, TiO2 NPs, and Fe2O3/TiO2 nanocomposite. 2.5% Ag/Fe2O3/TiO2 nanocomposite was considered the highest and superior photocatalytic reduction efficiency, and it almost achieved 98% after 9 min. Interestingly, the photocatalytic reduction of 4-NP was accelerated 9 times higher than the catalytic reduction over 2.5% Ag/Fe2O3/TiO2; its rate constant value was 709 and 706 times larger than pure TiO2 and Fe2O3 NPs, respectively. The enhanced photocatalytic reduction ability of Ag/Fe2O3/TiO2 nanocomposite might be referred to as significantly providing visible light absorption and a large surface area, and it can upgrade the effective separation and mobility of electron holes. The stability of the synthesized catalysts exhibited that the obtained catalysts can undergo a slight decrease in reduction efficiency after five successive cycles. This approach highlights a novel route for constructing ternary nanocomposite systems with high photo/-catalytic ability.

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Acknowledgements

The authors extend their appreciation to the Deputyship for Research and Innovation, Ministry of Education in Saudi Arabia, for funding this research work through project number 412.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, King Khalid University, Abha, Saudi Arabia

    Atif Mossad Ali & Hamed Algarni

  2. Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Assiut University, Asyut, 71516, Egypt

    Atif Mossad Ali

  3. Institute of Nanoscience & Nanotechnology, Kafrelsheikh University, Kafr El-Sheikh, 33516, Egypt

    Hamza El-hosainy

  4. Laboratory Technology, Department College of Technological Studies (PAAET), Shuwaikh, Kuwait

    Iman Y. Alhassan

  5. Nanotechnologyand Advanced Materials Program, Energy & Building Research Center, Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research (KISR), P.O. Box 24885, 13109, Safat, Kuwait

    Latifa A. Al-Hajji & Adel A. Ismail

  6. Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Assiut University, Asyut, 71516, Egypt

    Haitham M. El-Bery

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  1. Atif Mossad Ali
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  2. Hamza El-hosainy
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  3. Iman Y. Alhassan
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  4. Latifa A. Al-Hajji
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  5. Adel A. Ismail
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  6. Hamed Algarni
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  7. Haitham M. El-Bery
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Contributions

A. M. Ali: conceptualization, project administration, and funding acquisition. H. El-hosainy, L. A. Al-Hajji, and I. Y. Alhassan: writing—original draft, investigation, methodology, and formal analysis. A. A. Ismail: data curation, writing—review and editing, and supervision. H Algarni and H. M. El-Bery: investigation and writing—original draft.

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Correspondence to Adel A. Ismail.

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Ali, A.M., El-hosainy, H., Alhassan, I.Y. et al. Synthesis of mesoporous Ag/α-Fe2O3/TiO2 heterostructures with enhanced and accelerated photo/-catalytic reduction of 4-nitrophenol. Environ Sci Pollut Res 30, 41405–41418 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-25228-w

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