Degradation of Rhodamine B with Visible Light Response of Fe 2 O 3 /TiO 2 Film Electrode

Abstract

Fe2O3/TiO2 film electrodes were prepared by a new process with the sol-gel and hydrothermal methods, and various factors were studied to optimize the electrode preparation procedures, such as the precursor solution concentration, reaction time and annealing temperature. The Fe2O3/TiO2 film electrodes prepared by successively adding 0.4 M Fe(NO3)3 precursor solution, reacting for 24 h and annealing at 450°C for 2 h were found to have the highest photocatalytic efficiency, with the average photocurrent in response to visible light up to 105 μA, which was superior to other modified film electrodes and far better than pure TiO2 film electrodes. Using the optimal Fe2O3/TiO2 film electrodes, the decolorization rate of Rhodamine B by photoelectrocatalytic degradation could reach 100%, and the decolorization ratio gradually increased after three repetitions. © 2014 The Electrochemical Society.