Volume 11 Issue 3 ( September 2024)

In this study, iron oxide hematite (α-Fe₂O₃) nanocrystals were prepared using nonahydrate ferrite nitrate and citric acid monohydrate as the precursors. Toward change in the physical properties of the resulting product, annealing was performed at 400, 500, 600, and 700°C for 4 h. The hematite (α-Fe₂O₃) samples were characterized by FTIR spectroscopy, XRD, and SEM. The FTIR data displayed primary Fe-O vibrations, that the sample implies as hematite (α-Fe₂O₃). The XRD and SEM results confirmed an increase in the crystallite size with increasing annealing temperature. Furthermore, the crystallite size range from 25.9-46.1 nm. The magnetic properties of the samples were evaluated using VSM. The hematite (α-Fe₂O₃) nanocrystals were exposed to the photodegradation of blue methylene under UV light irradiation. Photocatalysts with 60 mg of hematite (α-Fe₂O₃) without annealing treatment were found to have the highest degradation efficiency of blue methylene until 90.04% compared to other doses. Finally, the increase in the dye degradation efficiency with the increment of hematite (α-Fe₂O₃) nanocrystals indicates the reduction of the dye support by surface adsorption following the photocatalysis mechanism.

Keywords: hematite (α-Fe₂O₃); sol-gel; photocatalyst