Effects of sono-assisted modified precipitation on the crystallinity, size, morphology, and catalytic applications of hematite (α-Fe2O3) nanoparticles: A comparative study

Diaa Eldin Fouad; Chunhong Zhang; Tadele Daniel Mekuria; Changlong Bi; Asad A Zaidi; Ahmer Hussain Shah

doi:10.1016/j.ultsonch.2019.104713

Effects of sono-assisted modified precipitation on the crystallinity, size, morphology, and catalytic applications of hematite (α-Fe₂O₃) nanoparticles: A comparative study

Ultrason Sonochem. 2019 Dec:59:104713. doi: 10.1016/j.ultsonch.2019.104713. Epub 2019 Aug 8.

Authors

Diaa Eldin Fouad¹, Chunhong Zhang², Tadele Daniel Mekuria³, Changlong Bi⁴, Asad A Zaidi⁵, Ahmer Hussain Shah⁶

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Superlight Material and Surface Technology, Ministry of Education, College of Materials Science and Chemical Engineering, Harbin Engineering University, Harbin 150001, PR China; Forensic Authority, Ministry of Justice, Cairo, Egypt.
² Key Laboratory of Superlight Material and Surface Technology, Ministry of Education, College of Materials Science and Chemical Engineering, Harbin Engineering University, Harbin 150001, PR China. Electronic address: zhangchunhong97@163.com.
³ Key Laboratory of Superlight Material and Surface Technology, Ministry of Education, College of Materials Science and Chemical Engineering, Harbin Engineering University, Harbin 150001, PR China; Department of Chemistry, College of Natural and Computational Sciences, Assosa University, Assoa, Ethiopia.
⁴ Key Laboratory of Superlight Material and Surface Technology, Ministry of Education, College of Materials Science and Chemical Engineering, Harbin Engineering University, Harbin 150001, PR China.
⁵ Department of Engineering Sciences, PN Engineering College, National University of Sciences and Technology, Karachi 75350, Pakistan; College of Power and Energy Engineering, Harbin Engineering University, Harbin 150001, PR China.
⁶ Key Laboratory of Superlight Material and Surface Technology, Ministry of Education, College of Materials Science and Chemical Engineering, Harbin Engineering University, Harbin 150001, PR China; Department of Textile Engineering, Balochistan University of Information Technology, Engineering and Management Sciences, Quetta 87300, Pakistan.

PMID: 31421612
DOI: 10.1016/j.ultsonch.2019.104713

Abstract

The present study reports a new approach to improve the adsorption and catalytic properties of hematite nanoparticles (HNPs) synthesized via the chemical precipitation technique as one of the most applicable and preferable synthesis methods. This could be performed through controlling the particles' crystallinity where a facile ultrasonic pathway (UP) modification was introduced as a hybrid replacement for the conventionally-used magnetic stirring pathway (MP) using different precursor concentrations. The X-ray diffraction and Raman spectra define the pristine phase of α-Fe₂O₃ crystal with lower crystallinity and higher degrees of structural disorder for UP products. UP also shows smaller nanosized particles with lower bundles of aggregations and lumps formation in addition to lesser values of polydispersity index compared to the MP products. The catalytic performance supported by the reaction kinetics for the degradation of hazardous Rose Bengal and Congo Red dyes in light and dark, respectively, were examined. It revealed superior efficiencies for all of the UP products within a short span against the conventional MP and previous studies. Moreover, it was confirmed that UP products could catalyze the biodegradation reactions of green algae (Enteromorpha) and induced higher rates of biogas production. In addition to this, decreasing the precursor concentrations was found to be another key factor reducing the produced particles' crystallinity, size, and lumps formation as well as affecting the morphology development. Thus, the synergetic effects of applying the UP at low precursor concentrations could show a practical pathway for the synthesis of low-crystalline HNPs with enhanced properties for green applications over the conventional MP products. Hence, the obtained findings are of vital importance to show the improved catalytic efficiency of HNPs by shedding new light on controlling the crystallinity and developing the surface features in the conventional precipitation process via the proposed modification.

Keywords: Catalyst; Chemical precipitation; Crystallinity; Hematite (α-Fe(2)O(3)) nanoparticles; Rose Bengal/Congo Red; Ultrasonication.