Effect of Fe3+ ion doping to TiO2 on the photocatalytic degradation of Malachite Green dye under UV and vis-irradiation

Fe3+ ion-doped TiO2 particles were synthesized by the hydrothermal process at 225 °C. Titanium isopropoxide (Ti(OPri)4) was used as precursor material. Both undoped and doped TiO2 particles were used to coat glass surface. The coated surface was examined with respect to their photocatalytic performance for degradation of Malachite Green (MG) dye in aqueous solution under UV and vis-light irradiation. The particles and the films were characterized by XRD, SEM and UV/vis/NIR techniques. The results showed that crystallite size of the hydrothermally synthesized TiO2 particles are in nanoscale. Anatase was only the crystalline phase. Doping of Fe3+ ion improved the photodegradation performance of TiO2 coated surfaces. Degradation performance of Fe3+ doped TiO2 coated surfaces determined under UV- and vis-irradiation conditions was higher than the undoped TiO2 coated surface. It was concluded that the photodegradation of 2.5 mg L−1 MG under UV-light irradiation with the catalysis of Fe3+-doped TiO2 follows the pseudo-first-order reaction kinetics with the rate constant of 0.0202 min−1.