Notice of RetractionPhotocatalytic Degradation of Organic Pollutant in Water by Iron Doped Mesoporous TiO2 Prepared via Modified Sol-Gel Process

Notice of Retraction

After careful and considered review of the content of this paper by a duly constituted expert committee, this paper has been found to be in violation of IEEE´s Publication Principles.

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TiO₂ photocatalysis technology has been widely used in environmental remediation, especially for wastewater treatment technology. In this paper, Fe³⁺ doped mesoporous TiO₂ was prepared via modified sol-gel process using MCM-41 as hard template. The photocatalytic activities of prepared samples were tested in the degradation of an aqueous solution of a reactive dyestuff, methylene blue, under visible light. The obtained samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction, N₂ adsorption, FT-IR, and UV-Vis spectroscopy. The prepared Fe³⁺ doped TiO₂ was pure anatase phase when the calcination temperature below 700°C. The Ti-O-Si bond formed between TiO₂ and MCM-41 fixed the TiO₂ on the MCM-41 surface which restricted the agglomeration and growth of the TiO₂ particles. Fe³⁺ was doped by replacing the Ti⁴⁺ in TiO₂ lattice, which introduced a new energy level (Fe³⁺/Fe⁴⁺) into the band gap, thus increased the absorption in visible light region. The addition of MCM-41 during the preparation procedure greatly improved the photocatalytic activity of prepared TiO₂ catalysts. The calcination temperature played an important role in affecting the photocatalytic activity.