Visible-light-driven amorphous Fe(III)-substituted hydroxyapatite photocatalyst: Characterization and photocatalytic activity

In this paper, we explore a large surface area visible-light-driven amorphous photocatalyst made from hydroxyapatite by low cost ion-exchange method. We firstly demonstrated the semiconductor property of such amorphous material by a smart ink under visible light. A good photocatalytic activity as that of crystal semiconductor (Bi2WO6 prepared at 500 degrees C or olive-shaped BiVO4) was obtained for as-prepared amorphous material in the degradation of rhodamine B (RhB). A small amount of H2O2 was found to enhance greatly the photocatalytic activity of as-prepared material. The as-prepared material was quite stable during the recycling experiments, which could lead to potential applications in engineering practice. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.