Efficient photocatalytic degradation of Rhodamine B dye using solar light-driven La-Mn co-doped Fe2O3 nanoparticles

Sobia Maqbool; Adeel Ahmed; Arif Mukhtar; Muhammad Jamshaid; Aziz Ur Rehman; Saima Anjum

doi:10.1007/s11356-022-22701-w

Efficient photocatalytic degradation of Rhodamine B dye using solar light-driven La-Mn co-doped Fe₂O₃ nanoparticles

Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2023 Jan;30(3):7121-7137. doi: 10.1007/s11356-022-22701-w. Epub 2022 Aug 27.

Authors

Sobia Maqbool^#¹, Adeel Ahmed^#², Arif Mukhtar³, Muhammad Jamshaid³, Aziz Ur Rehman³, Saima Anjum⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Chemistry, The Government Sadiq College Women University Bahawalpur, Punjab, 63100, Pakistan.
² College of Materials Science and Engineering, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Qingdao University, Qingdao, 266071, China.
³ Institute of Chemistry, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Punjab, 63100, Pakistan.
⁴ Department of Chemistry, The Government Sadiq College Women University Bahawalpur, Punjab, 63100, Pakistan. drsaima@gscwu.edu.pk.

^# Contributed equally.

PMID: 36029444
DOI: 10.1007/s11356-022-22701-w

Abstract

This work aims to develop a highly efficient solar light-induced photocatalyst based on La-Mn co-doped Fe₂O₃ nanoparticles. Pure Fe₂O₃ and La-Mn co-doped Fe₂O₃ nanoparticles were fabricated by a simple co-precipitation method. The photocatalysts were analyzed for their morphological, structural, and magnetic characteristics. Scanning electron microscopy analysis demonstrated the formation of semi-spherical nanoparticles along with small aggregations. The size of nanoparticles was measured using a transmission electron microscope and found in the range of 42-49 nm. The crystalline nature and geometry of synthesized nanoparticles were investigated using X-ray diffraction analysis. Due to the incorporation of La-Mn, the saturation magnetization and remanent magnetization of the nanoparticles decreased from 6.17 to 2.89 emu/g and 1.15 to 0.52 emu/g, respectively, while the coercivity was reduced from 756.72 to 756.67 Oe. The surface area of nanoparticles was increased from 77.93 to 87.45 m²/g as a result of La-Mn co-doping. The photocatalytic performance of the Fe₂O₃, La_0.1Mn_0.3Fe_1.6O₃, and La_0.2Mn_0.2Fe_1.6O₃ catalysts was assessed by their capability to degrade Rhodamine B (RhB) under solar light illumination. La_0.2Mn_0.2Fe_1.6O₃ displayed exceptional degradation performance, degrading RhB to 91.78% in 240 min, in comparison to La_0.1Mn_0.3Fe_1.6O₃ (71.09%) and pristine Fe₂O₃ (58.21%) under specified reaction conditions ((RhB) = 50 ppm; (catalyst) = 40 mg/L; pH = 7; T = 25 °C)). RhB degradation was affected by changing pH, catalytic dosage, dye concentration, and temperature. The degradation of RhB was found to be pseudo-1st order kinetics. The exceptional photocatalytic performance of La_0.2Mn_0.2Fe_1.6O₃ catalysts showed that the synthesized nanoparticles could be effectively utilized to remove organic pollutants from industrial wastewater.

Keywords: Degradation; Doped Fe2O3; Organic pollutants; Photocatalyst; Rhodamine B.

MeSH terms

Nanoparticles* / chemistry
Rhodamines
Sunlight*
Temperature

Substances

rhodamine B
Rhodamines