Synthesis and characterization of TiO2 and Fe/TiO2 nanoparticles and their performance for photocatalytic degradation of 1,2-dichloroethane

Abstract The characterization of nano-sized TiO 2 and Fe/TiO 2 prepared by a sol–gel method was characterized in this study. The synthesized photocatalysts were used for the photodegradation of 1,2-dichloroethane (1,2-DCE). From X-ray powder diffraction data, the crystal phase presents a mixture of anatase and rutile with anatase the dominant phase. As seen in TEM images, the crystallites of photocatalysts are spherical particles with a crystallite size about 10–20 nm. UV–vis absorption spectra of Fe/TiO 2 show a slightly increase in absorbancy in the visible light region with the increasing iron ion doping concentration. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) results indicate that the Ti 2p 3/2 and Ti 2p 1/2 photoelectrons for TiO 2 and Fe/TiO 2 are located at binding energies of 459 and 465 eV, respectively, which represent the values of Ti 4+ in the TiO 2 lattices. The XPS data also indicate that the doped Fe ions exist in the forms of Fe(III). The Fe(III) may alleviate the surface poison phenomenon and act as both h + /e − traps to reduce the recombination rate of h + /e − pairs, and the optimum iron doping amount is 0.001 mol%. From 1,2-DCE photocatalytic degradation, the photocatalytic performance is a function of retention time and it would have a competitive adsorption on the active site of TiO 2 between water vapor and 1,2-DCE. The byproducts of 1,2-DCE photodegradation include H 2 O, CO, CO 2 , C 2 H 5 Cl, CH 2 Cl 2 , and HCl.