Study of structural, optical and photocatalytic properties of goethite

Abstract This article deals with the synthesis and physicochemical properties of α-FeOOH. Three-dimensional structures of goethite in the form of flakes, which are effective photocatalysts, were obtained by the method of hydrothermal synthesis. The results of X-ray phase analysis showed that the obtained product is weakly crystalline, with peaks corresponding to iron alpha-oxyhydroxide. IR spectroscopy confirmed the formation of the alpha phase of iron oxyhydroxide with characteristic peaks at wave numbers of 791 and 888 cm −1 . The reflectance spectra were used to determine the band gap energy using Tauc transformations. The band gap of the obtained goethite was 1.81 eV. It was established that the maximum degree of decomposition of methylene blue in the presence of α-FeOOH was 99.49%