Fe2O3/RGO nanocomposite photocatalyst: Effective degradation of 4-Nitrophenol

We synthesized Fe2O3/RGO nanocomposite (NC) via simple and green hydrothermal method. The structure, morphology and thermal stability of prepared NC was studied using XRD, FESEM, EDS, TGA, FTIR and UV-DRS. As-synthesized NC was tested for photocatalytic activity by the degradation of model organic pollutant, 4-Nitrophenol (4-NP) under visible light irradiation. The effect of pH and H2O2 were studied on photocatalytic degradation of 4-NP by Fe2O3/RGO NC. This NC as benign photocatalyst for completely degraded 4-NP in 50 min. We stated that H2O2 played a key role in photocatalytic degradation of dye pollutant under visible light irradiation with the help of composite which was prepared by hydrothermal route. However H2O2 acts as promising oxidant due to its high efficiency, low cost and produce harmless co-additives. Moreover H2O2 can serve as electron scavengers and generates the hydroxyl radicals.