Hydrothermal synthesis and visible-light photocatalytic activity of α-Fe2O3/TiO2 composite hollow microspheres

Novel α-Fe2O3/TiO2 composite hollow spheres were successfully synthesized by a template-assisted precipitation reaction using urea as a precipitating agent and carbon spheres as templates in a mixed solvent of water and ethanol, and then calcined at 400 °C for 4 h. The as-prepared samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, nitrogen adsorption-desorption isotherms, and vibrating sample magnetometer. The influence of calcination temperature and the molar ratio of titanium to iron (R) on the photocatalytic activity of the samples was investigated. The results indicated that the composite spheres show magnetic characteristics at room temperature and good photocatalytic activity under visible-light irradiation compare to the single-component α-Fe2O3 particles. This method can be further applied to synthesize nanocomposites of magnetic metal oxide and other metal oxide.