Facile synthesis of Fe2O3/Cu2O nanocomposite and its visible light photocatalytic activity for the degradation of cationic dyes

Iron oxide-loaded Cu2O photocatalysts were prepared by a facile hydrothermal method. The binary mixed metal oxide photocatalyst was characterized by XRD, FE-SEM, FTIR, UV-Vis-DRS, particle size and zeta potential measurements. XRD analysis showed that Fe2O3/Cu2O catalysts were phase pure and highly crystalline in nature. FE-SEM images revealed the formation of nanospherical Fe2O3 over the Cu2O surface during hydrothermal reaction. From UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy studies, the optical band gap of the Fe2O3/Cu2O photocatalyst was found to be slightly red-shifted to 1.85 eV, after loading of Fe2O3. The zeta potential analysis revealed that the surface of the Fe2O3/Cu2O photocatalyst was negatively charged in neutral solution. The loading of n-type Fe2O3 on p-type Cu2O augments the charge carrier separation at the interface, which was evident from the enhanced photodegradation of organic pollutants (Methylene blue and Rhodamine B dyes) under visible light irradiation.