DEMİR İYONLARI KATKILI BİYO-ATIK İÇERİKLİ TiO2 NANO TANECİKLERİ: YAPISAL, MORFOLOJİK VE OPTİKSEL KARAKTERİZASYONU

This study highlighted a facile preparation of a low-cost and efficient iron dopant photocatalyst using rice husk (RH) for water treatment. RH was not only used as a template but also as a multi-dopant source to prepare biowaste-templated TiO2 nanoparticles with iron ions (RH-Fe-TiO2). RH, as an agricultural waste, was used to prepare RH-Fe-TiO2 nanoparticles through a sol-gel method, followed by iron doping via a wet impregnation method. XRD analysis results indicated that the RH-Fe-TiO2 specimen contained a mixed phase, primarily composed of anatase and a smaller amount of rutile TiO2. The removal of the sacrificial template and the iron doping were confirmed through SEM-EDAX and XPS analysis. FTIR analysis also proved the presence of silicon derived from RH and iron dopant ions resulting from the doping procedure. The morphology of the RH-Fe-TiO2 specimen exhibited a fibrous and lamellar structure with cracks formed due to the removal of the sacrificial template. The iron doping process resulted in a reduction of the band gap and an observed red shift in the spectrum. The BET surface area of the photocatalyst was found to be 47 m2/g. The RH-Fe-TiO2 catalyst degraded 41% of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) in 120 min.