Synthesis of α-Fe2O3/TiO2 nanotube arrays for photoelectro-Fenton degradation of phenol

Developing new nanophotocatalysts and identifying their roles are highly attractive in environmental protection and energy utilization. Photoelectro-Fenton process is an environmentally friendly technology and has a wide application in the control of environmental pollutants. However, efficient nanophotocatalysts responsive to visible light are still few. In this work, we have successfully synthesized a uniformly dispersed α-Fe2O3/TiO2 nanotubes hetero-nanostructure by electrochemical deposition method for the degradation of phenol. Compared with the separate α-Fe2O3 nanoparticles and TiO2 nanotubes, the composite α-Fe2O3/TiO2 nanotubes electrodes were more effective in the photoelectro-Fenton degradation of phenol and a 100% removal efficiency of phenol was obtained after 60 min treatment. The composite α-Fe2O3/TiO2 electrodes showed an enhanced absorbance in visible light region and had good stability to photoelectro-Fenton reactions. The role of α-Fe2O3 nanoparticles in various Fenton-related processes were systematically investigated. The results indicate that α-Fe2O3/TiO2 nanotubes are promising material for pollution prevention.

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► α-Fe2O3/TiO2 nanotubes were fabricated by electrochemical deposition method.
► α-Fe2O3/TiO2 has stronger absorbance in visible light region relative to TiO2.
► A 100% removal efficiency of phenol in photoelectro-Fenton process was achieved.
► Role of α-Fe2O3 in promoting pollutant degradation was systematically investigated.
► The possible reaction pathways of phenol degradation were suggested.