Controllable synthesis of rhombohedral α-Fe2O3 efficient for photocatalytic degradation of bisphenol A

One-step controllable synthesis of rhombohedral alpha-Fe2O3 photocatalyst has been successfully developed by P123 soft template assisted method. A combination analysis of XRD, BET, SEM and HRTEM has documented that P123 surfactant plays a crucial role in the controllable synthesis of rhombohedral alpha-Fe(2)O(3)with the exposure of (110) and (012). The as-obtained alpha-Fe2O3 material is efficient for the photocatalytic degradation of Bisphenol A (BPA). About 91% of BPA (30 mg/L) was degraded by using 1 g/L alpha-Fe2O3 within 6 h under the simulated sunlight irradiation, which was almost twice higher than that of commercial Fe2O3. More importantly, reaction intermediates (e.g., 4, 4'-methylenediphenol, phenol and lactic acid) were confirmed by LC-MS/MS analysis, and the rational pathway of BPA degradation was finally proposed.