Synthesis of nano-structured Fe/FeS powder and photocatalytic activity under visible light irradiation

Fe/FeS core/shell nano-structured powder was synthesized by mechano-thermal route. Fe and S powders with the molar ratio of 2:1 were mechanically activated for 1 h and then heat treated at 1023 K in order to produce Fe/FeS core/shell powder. To explore the potential capability of Fe/FeS powders for wastewater treatment, the photocatalytic activity was evaluated by photodegradation of methylene blue (MB) and methyl orange (MO) in three different dyes concentration of 5, 10 and 20 ppm under visible light. Structure, morphology and properties of powder were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and UV-vis spectroscopy. Results demonstrated that the crystallite size of produced powder was approximately 43 nm. The result revealed that, photocatalytic degradation of MB was better than degradation of MO by Fe/FeS powder. The kinetic parameter in terms of rate constant was equal to 2.12×10-3 min-1 for the optimum MB concentration of 5 ppm. This study provides a simple and inexpensive way to prepare Fe/FeS photocatalyst on a large scale

کلیدواژه ها:

Fe/FeS ، core/shell ، mechano-thermal ، photocatalytic activity