Hydrothermal synthesis of α-Fe2O3/g-C3N4 composite and its efficient photocatalytic reduction of Cr(VI) under visible light

alpha-Fe2O3/g-C3N4 composites were fabricated by a facile hydrothermal method. The prepared composites were characterized by XRD, XPS, TEM, DRS, PL and photoelectrochemical measurement. Under visible light irradiation, alpha-Fe2O3/g-C3N4 composite displays higher photocatalytic activity than pure g-C3N4 and alpha-Fe2O3 for Cr(VI) reduction. The enhanced photocatalytic activity should be attributed to the wellmatched band structure and intimate contact interfaces between g-C3N4 and alpha-Fe2O3, which lead to the effective transfer and separation of the photogenerated charge carriers. The decoration of alpha-Fe2O3 does not affect the morphology and size of g-C3N4. The lower photoluminescence intensity and higher photocurrent density indicate the effective transfer and separation of photogenerated charge carriers. alpha-Fe2O3/g-C3N4 composite shows more intense optical absorption compared with pure g-C3N4. The addition of hole scavengers can greatly facilitate the photocatalytic reduction of Cr(VI) and the alpha-Fe2O3/g-C3N4 composite shows excellent stability during the photocatalytic reduction of Cr(VI). (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.