PHOTOCATALYTIC DEGRADATION OF DIRECT VIOLET 4-AZODYE IN AQUEOUS SOLUTION USING Α-FE2O3THIN FILMS

This study involves the preparation of α-Fe2O3 thin films coated on microscopic glass slides by thermal spray followed by thermally- induced decomposition of Prussian Blue(PB), Fe4[Fe(CN)6]3, in air at 250°C. XRD and SEM were used to characterize the synthesized thin films for surface morphology texturing. Photocatalytic activity of α-Fe2O3 thin films was investigated using direct violet 4-azodye, employing heterogeneous photocatalytic process. Two different types of light have been used in this study, one using UV light and the other using visible light using a 100-watt tungsten lamp. α-Fe2O3 thin film does not give any significant effect upon using UV light while visible light caused more than 69.5% degradation of direct violet 4-azodye in the presence of 90.66 mg/L of H2O2. We studied the effect of different parameters on photocatalytic degradation process including changes in H2O2 concentration and pH of the medium, were studied.