1. Photocatalytic mitigation of rhodamine B dye over novel FeS2/CeO2 nanocomposites through step S-scheme mechanism.
- Author
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Heiba, Zein K., Ahmed, M. A., Elshimy, H., and El-naggar, A. M.
- Subjects
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RHODAMINE B , *ORGANIC dyes , *BAND gaps , *ELECTRON-hole recombination , *XANTHENE dyes , *SCANNING transmission electron microscopy , *DYES & dyeing - Abstract
Photothermal nanoparticles are recent materials which provide additional capacity supply during the photocatalytic reactions. Iron disulfide (FeS2) nanoparticles with unique chemical and optical properties effectively absorb the full broad spectrum and convert the solar energy into chemical energy owing to its small band gap energy of 1.5 eV. However, the fast electron–hole pair recombination reduces the efficiency of FeS2 and depresses the redox reaction. In this novel research, FeS2/CeO2 heterojunctions are prepared for successful decomposition of rhodamine B dye as toxic pollutant belonging to xanthene dye group. CeO2 nanoparticles are fabricated through sol–gel procedure via triton- × 100 as pore directing agent. Nanoparticle's FeS2 is developed by the precipitating process under a N2-atmospheric condition. Various amounts of FeS2 particles were deposited in ultrasonic bath onto the surface of CeO2. The nanostructures, crystalline and optical properties of the solid specimens are evaluated by scanning and transmission electron microscopy (SEM and TEM) with Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), x-ray diffraction (XRD), photoluminescence (PL) and diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) techniques. The photocatalytic efficiency of CeO2, FeS2 and various compositions of FeS2/CeO2 heterojunction was deliberated via following the decomposition of rhodamine B dye under UV radiation at 365 nm. FeS2 efficiently transfers the absorbability of the nanocomposite to deep visible region by decreasing the band gap energy of CeO2 from 2.3 to 1.5 eV revealing that FeS2 determines the optical properties of the nanocomposites. The charge transportation proceeds through type (I) heterojunction with accumulation of the massive charge carriers in the valence and conduction bands of FeS2 nanoparticles. The novel nanocomposite with strong absorbability of nearly full absorption spectrum could be an effective photocatalyst for decomposition of toxic organic dye from various sources of water. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2024
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