Fe4I3O24H15: A novel semiconductor with high performance in photodegradation of rhodamine B dyes under visible light irradiation

• A new Fe4I3O24H15 semiconductor was successfully developed.
• The activity of Fe4I3O24H15 is comparable to that of Ag3PO4 photocatalyst.
• Fe4I3O24H15 can be reused for at least 5 times without obvious loss of activity.

In this study, a new semiconductor, Fe4I3O24H15, was successfully developed. The results of UV–vis diffuse reflectance spectra indicated that Fe4I3O24H15 is visible-light-responsive, its absorption band edge is around the wavelength of 540 nm and its band gap is about 2.30 eV. The Fe4I3O24H15 semiconductor showed high activity and high stability in photodegradation of rhodamine B dyes under irradiation of visible light. Its activity is close to that of the highly efficient photocatalyst, Ag3PO4. The Fe4I3O24H15 semiconductor can be reused for at least 5 times without obvious loss of its activity in the photodegradation experiment.