Facile synthesis of α-Fe(2)O(3) nanodisk with superior photocatalytic performance and mechanism insight

Intrinsic short hole diffusion length is a well-known problem for α-Fe(2)O(3) as a visible-light photocatalytic material. In this paper, a nanodisk morphology was designed to remarkably enhance separation of electron-hole pairs of α-Fe(2)O(3). As expected, α-Fe(2)O(3) nanodisks presented superior photocatalytic activity toward methylene blue degradation: more than 90% of the dye could be photodegraded within 30 min in comparison with a degradation efficiency of 50% for conventional Fe(2)O(3) powder. The unique multilayer structure is thought to play a key role in the remarkably improved photocatalytic performance. Further experiments involving mechanism investigations revealed that instead of high surface area, ·OH plays a crucial role in methylene blue degradation and that O(·2−) may also contribute effectively to the degradation process. This paper demonstrates a facile and energy-saving route to fabricating homogenous α-Fe(2)O(3) nanodisks with superior photocatalytic activity that is suitable for the treatment of contaminated water and that meets the requirement of mass production.