RT journal article
T1 Fe3O4-TiO2 Thin Films in Solar Photocatalytic Processes
A1 Aguinaco Martín, Almudena
A1 Manuel Delgado, José Manuel
A1 Blanco Ollero, Eduardo
A1 Domínguez de la Vega, Manuel
A1 Litrán Ramos, Rocío
A1 Delgado Jaén, Juan José
A1 Ramírez del Solar, Milagrosa
A2 Ciencia de los Materiales e Ingeniería Metalúrgica y Química Inorgánica
A2 Física de la Materia Condensada
K1 titania
K1 magnetite
K1 thin film
K1 photocatalysis
AB The optical properties of 5wt% Fe3O4-TiO2 thin films were evaluated in detail with the aim of proposing a mechanism for solar photocatalytic processes and highlighting the advantages over the use of bare TiO2. The results showed that the incorporation of 5wt% Fe3O4 enhanced the optical properties by a redshift to a wavelength in the visible range, reducing the anatase/rutile band gap energy from 3.2 eV to 2.8 eV. Photoluminescence studies reveal a superior separation efficiency of photoexcited electron-hole pairs when Fe3O4 nanoparticles (NPs) are present in the photocatalyst. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy spectra confirm the presence of Fe3O4 and existence of a chemical bonding between TiO2 and Fe3O4 NPs. Moreover, in this study, a mechanism of solar photocatalytic processes involving Fe3O4-TiO2 thin films is proposed and it is supported by experimental results. Finally, solar photocatalytic experiments were carried out, indicating that the effectiveness for the removal of the selected pharmaceutical is considerably improved when the composite material is used as catalyst. Furthermore, it was demonstrated that the photocatalytic activity of the prepared Fe3O4-TiO2 thin films depends on their thickness, achieving the highest pharmaceutical removal yields using the 2 mu m thick sample. The stability and reusability of the catalyst was confirmed studying the photocatalytic activity over three cycles.
PB MDPI
SN 1996-1944
YR 2022
FD 2022-10
LK http://hdl.handle.net/10498/28589
UL http://hdl.handle.net/10498/28589
LA eng
DS Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Cádiz
RD 21-sep-2026