[alpha]-Fe sub(2)O sub(3) as a photocatalytic material: A review

• Published in: Applied catalysis. A, General General, 2015-06, Vol.498, p.126-141
• Main Authors: Mishra, Maneesha, Chun, Doo-Man
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Absorbance; Absorption; Photocatalysis; Remediation; Renewable energy; Sunlight; Titanium dioxide; Ultraviolet
• ISSN: 0926-860X; 1873-3875
• DOI: 10.1016/j.apcata.2015.03.023

Photocatalysis has been attracting much research interest because of its wide applications in renewable energy and environmental remediation. There are many materials that are found to show good photocatalytic activity in the presence of ultraviolet (UV) and visible light. However, the applications of these materials are limited to the UV portion of sunlight. [alpha]-Fe sub(2)O sub(3) has an advantage over the other conventional materials like TiO sub(2), ZnO, etc. in using solar energy for photocatalytic applications due to its lower band gap ~2.2 eV value. As a result of which Fe sub(2)O sub(3) is capable of absorbing a large portion of the visible solar spectrum (absorbance edge ~600nm). Also its good chemical stability in aqueous medium, low cost, abundance and nontoxic nature makes it a promising material for photocatalytic water treatment and water splitting applications. Except these advantages the usage of Fe sub(2)O sub(3) has been restricted by many anomalies such as higher e-h recombination effect, low diffusion length and VB positioning (VB is positive with respect to H+/H sub(2) potential). This article reviews the research that has been carried out to overcome these basic limitations and to enhance the photocatalytic activity of [alpha]-Fe sub(2)O sub(3).