Preparation of Fe2O3/SrTiO3 composite powders and their photocatalytic properties

Fe2O3/SrTiO3 composite powders have been prepared and their photocatalytic activities were investigated by photooxidizing methanol. These powders were characterized by ultraviolet (UV)-visible diffuse reflectance spectra, scanning electron microscope (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The results showed that the Fe2O3/SrTiO3 composite powders with optimum proportion exhibited higher photocatalytic activity than pure SrTiO3, Fe2O3 and TiO2 (P25) under visible light (lambda > 440 nm) irradiation. The SEM image of the composite powders showed that SrTiO3 and Fe2O3 particles contacted well. Further research revealed that the calcination temperature is an important factor in the preparation of the composite powder with relatively high photocatalytic ability. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.