Fabrication, characterization and photocatalytic performance of Fe-doped TiO2 nanotube composite for efficient degradation of water pollutants

Abstract

Pure TiO2 nanotube and Fe-doped TiO2 nanotube composite were fabricated by the electrochemical anodic oxidation process and the impregnating-calcination method, respectively. The structural and spectral properties were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer, X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, photoluminescence, and UV-vis spectrum. These results showed that Fe was effectively deposited on the surface of TiO2 nanotube. It is demonstrated that the Fe-doped TiO2 nanotube composite can inhibit the recombination of electron-hole pairs and enhance the light harvesting ability. The photocatalytic activity of Fe-doped TiO2 nanotube composite under UV irradiation was examined in terms of color and UV-vis absorbance for the degradation of methyl orange. The photocatalytic performance of UV-C irradiation in presence of Fe-doped TiO2 nanotube composite increased obviously for the removal efficiency of color and UV-vis absorbance compared to that of UV-A irradiation, and the reaction rate constant was about 6.8 times faster than that of UV-A irradiation. This can be ascribed to the effective separation of the photo-generated charge carriers.