Photocatalytic Degradation of Rhodamine B and Methylene blue Using α-Fe2O3 Nanoparticles

In this work, hematite (α-Fe2O3) nanoparticles was prepared using wet chemical approach accompanied by thermal decomposition and was characterized using Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM). The FT-IR and XRD results confirm that the successfully preparation of pure hematite α-Fe2O3. The VSM predicts the ferromagnetic behavior for as-prepared α-Fe2O3. The TEM image show that the particles are separated, not agglomerated with quasi-spherical shape. Also, the particles are less than 100 nm. In addition, photo-degradation of rhodamine B (RhB) and methylene blue (MB) dyes was studied using α-Fe2O3 nanoparticles under visible light.