Colloidal solution combustion synthesis of am -TiO 2 / o -YFeO 3 nanocomposites: effect of titania loading on the photo-Fenton-like activity

The article focused on a new method (colloidal solution combustion synthesis, CSCS) for obtaining TiO 2 /YFeO 3 nanocomposites and the photocatalytic activity (methyl violet oxidation) of the synthesized samples depending on the TiO 2 content (0–10 wt%). The obtained photocatalysts’ properties were examined by means of EDXS, PXRD, nitrogen physisorption, Raman spectroscopy, and UV-Vis DRS. With the CSCS method, the phase transformation of TiO 2 from anatase ( a -TiO 2 ) to amorphous ( am -TiO 2 ) was observed as a result of the combustion process. The am -TiO 2 grains were found to be well dispersed on the surface of orthorhombic YFeO 3 ( o -YFeO 3 ) with an average diameter of about 138 nm and 1.5 μm, respectively. The calculated average size ( D ) of o -YFeO 3 crystals was in the range of about 35–56 nm; the largest D belonged to the case of pure YFeO 3 . All of the samples were shown to be mesopore adsorbents with pore widths of 40–50 nm. A synergistic effect between TiO 2 -added and YFeO 3 -based components was discovered. In comparison to pure YFeO 3 , TiO 2 /YFeO 3 composites were developed for methyl violet photodegradation. The optimal TiO 2 content for YFeO 3 -based photocatalysts was 2.5 wt%, with a dye removal efficiency of 38.6% and a TOF of 3.31·10 −5 min –1 . The TiO 2 -2.5/YFeO 3 sample demonstrated the possibility of repeated use with the dye. The findings enable the creation of novel heterogeneous nanocomposites containing am -TiO 2 and o -YFeO 3 phases as well as their potential use in the photocatalytic oxidation of synthetic dyes. Graphical Abstract