4-Mercaptobenzoic acid assisted synthesis of Au-decorated α-Fe2O3 nanopaticles with highly enhanced photocatalytic performance

A novel Au-decorated alpha-Fe2O3 nanocomposite has been successfully prepared using 4-mercaptobenzoic acid as bridging agent via a facile and cost-effective method. The formed 10 mol% Au-decorated alpha-Fe2O3 (Au/alpha-Fe2O3) nanocomposite demonstrates a narrower band gap (1.88 eV), 4.3 times larger photocurrent, more hot spots, and stronger electromagnetic coupling effect between gold and iron oxide than pure hematite nanoparticles, thus serving as the possible origins of their comparative photocatalytic activities. In addition, the synthesized Au/alpha-Fe2O3 exhibits excellent in handling anionic dyes like methyl orange and congo red, remarkably superior to their alpha-Fe2O3 precursors, and efficiently improves persistent organic pollutants (POPs) treatment. (C) 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.