Fe2O3–SnO2 composite nanorods: Facile synthesis and sorption properties

• α-Fe2O3 and Fe2O3–SnO2 composite nanorods were synthesized by wet chemical method.
• Fe2O3–SnO2 nanocomposites stabilize γ-Fe2O3 at 500 °C calcination temperature.
• Surface area of the Fe2O3–SnO2 nanocomposites is higher than that of α-Fe2O3.
• Fe2O3–SnO2 (Fe:Sn = 8:2) shows better sorption capacity than others.

Hematite (α-Fe2O3) and Fe2O3–SnO2 composite nanorods were synthesized by a facile low cost wet chemical method followed by calcination at 500 °C. The synthesized nanomaterials were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), and Raman spectroscopic techniques. XRD study showed the presence of magnetic γ-Fe2O3 phase along with SnO2 for Fe2O3–SnO2 composite nanorods, calcined at 500 °C temperature. However, in the absence of SnO2 formation of pure α-Fe2O3 phase was observed. SEM and TEM results revealed the formation of uniform nanorods with typical diameter 100–200 nm. The obtained α-Fe2O3 and Fe2O3–SnO2 composite nanorods were used as adsorbents for removal of Congo red (CR) dye molecules from aqueous solution. The adsorption isotherms and kinetics were studied. It was observed that, Fe2O3–SnO2 (Fe:Sn = 8:2) composite nanorod showed highest percentage adsorption with sorption capacity of 182 mg/g.

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