Fabrication of solar light induced Fe-TiO2 immobilized on glass-fiber and application for phenol photocatalytic degradation

• Fe-doped TiO2 immobilized on glass-fiber net were prepared by sol–gel method.
• Fe inhibited the phase transition of TiO2 from anatase to rutile.
• The optimal Fe doping dose was around 0.005 wt%.
• The optimal calcination temperature was around 600 °C.

Iron-doped anatase titanium dioxide catalysts coated on glass-fiber were successfully synthesized by a dip-coating sol–gel method. The prepared catalysts were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis, X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy to understand the synthesis mechanism, and their photocatalytic activities were evaluated by photodegradation of phenol under simulated solar irradiation. EDX analysis confirmed the existence of iron in the immobilized catalysts. XRD suggested that the phase transition of the catalysts from anatase to rutile were restrained, and almost pure anatase TiO2 could retain even the calcination temperature reached 800 °C. The UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy of the catalysts showed a red shift and increased photoabsorbance in the visible range for all the doped samples. Iron loading and calcination temperature have obvious influences on photocatalytic activity. In this study, the optimal doping dose and calcination temperature were around 0.005 wt% and 600 °C, respectively.

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