Effect of annealing conditions on the physicochemical and photocatalytic properties of a nanopowder based on Fe2TiO5

The current research deals with the urgent task of creating highly efficient photocatalysts for wastewater treatment from various organic pollutants. For these purposes, we carried out a mechanochemical synthesis, heat treatment, and study of a non-toxic, thermally and chemically stable catalysts with a heterostructure based on Fe2TiO5 pseudobrookite. The morphology and the properties of the as-prepared composites were characterized through different techniques. The chemical reactions occurring during the step-by-step heat treatment of the samples were proposed using info from XRD analysis, IR spectroscopy, thermal analysis, and mass spectra. The influence of the gaseous medium on the phase composition and the degree of crystallinity of materials has been established. The analysis of the elemental composition and morphology of powder particles was carried out at an annealing temperature in the range from 100 to 1000 degrees C in air. The photocatalytic activity of pseudobrookite was studied during the decomposition of the organic dye Rhodamine B, and the mechanism of photocatalysis asso-ciated with the absorption of photons and the formation of an electron-hole pair was considered. It was found that samples thermally treated in nitrogen were demonstrated greater catalytic activity than those treated in air.