Facile preparation of ferric giniite hollow microspheres and their enhanced Fenton-like catalytic performance under visible-light irradiation

Ferric giniite hollow spheres with diameters of about 1.2–1.4 μm were successfully fabricated with a one-pot hydrothermal process. All chemicals used were low-cost compounds and environmentally benign. The obtained products were characterized by field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM), high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), nitrogen adsorption–desorption isotherms, Fourier-transform IR spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). It was found that as-prepared ferric giniite hollow spheres exhibited much enhanced photocatalytic activity (99.5%) for the degradation of methylene blue in the presence of visible light irradiation and H2O2. Experimental results indicate that the existence of the carbonaceous shells enhances the photocatalytic activity of ferric giniite hollow spheres via the synergistic effect between carbon and ferric giniite, such as improving the adsorption, absorbing more light and exhibiting high activity to produce hydroxyl radicals through catalytic decomposition of H2O2.

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