Nanotechnology and nanomaterials
Morphological, structural and photocatalytic properties of TiO2/Fe2O3/halloysite nanocomposite

Szczepanik B.1*, Rogala P.1, Kubala-Kukuś A.2,3, Stabrawa I.2, Banaś D.2,3, Słomkiewicz P. M.1, Rędzia N.1

1)Institute of Chemistry, Jan Kochanowski University, Świętokrzyska 15G, 25-406 Kielce, Poland
E-mail: beata.szczepanik@ujk.edu.pl
2) Institute of Physics, Jan Kochanowski University, Świętokrzyska 15, 25-406 Kielce, Poland
3) Holycross Cancer Center, Artwińskiego 3, 25-734 Kielce, Poland
The novel nanostructured and nanoporous materials with specific properties and morphologies have been synthetized and employed as heterogeneous photocatalysts for various applications including the remediation of water and air [1]. The most extensively studied nanostructured photocatalyst is TiO2 due to its strong photocatalytic property, chemical and biological inertness, high photochemical stability and low price. α-Fe2O3 is used also as a photocatalysts due to its nontoxicity, stability and low cost [2]. Halloysite (1:1 clay mineral) is very attractive, natural-occurring 1D nanomaterial, used in technical applications as adsorbent, photocatalyst or photocatalyst support [3]. The aim of the present work was the synthesis of TiO2/Fe2O3/halloysite nanocomposite with the sol-gel method at a low temperature using as TiO2 precursor diisopropoxy titanium bis(acetylacetonate) and ferric hydroxide as a α-Fe2O3 precursor. Chemical and phase composition, particle morphology, and physical properties of these nanocomposite was studied with WDXRF, XPRD, TEM, ATR-FTIR, UV-Vis/DRS, XPS technique, and N2 adsorption/desorption isotherms. The photocatalytic activities of obtained nanocomposite for aniline degradation under the UV irradiation were determined. The TiO2/Fe2O3/halloysite nanocomposite showed significantly higher photocatalytic activity in decomposing aniline than that of the commercial photocatalyst P25.

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