Visible light active photocatalyst from recycled disposable heating pads

Abstract. Alpha-Fe2O3 (α-Fe2O3) is cheap and abundant and has potential to be a highly efficient photocatalyst for water splitting. According to the report, there are a huge amount of disposable heating pads being created every year, and the pads are used one time then thrown away. We found that the main product of used heating pads is α-Fe2O3. Here, we collect and purify the α-Fe2O3 powder in the used heating pads using low power consumption processes. It is shown that the recycled heating pads can be used as a cost-effective photocatalyst for H2 energy and for decomposition of organic pollutants as well. Additionally, the plasmonic enhanced photocatalysis reaction of α-Fe2O3 is also investigated. It is found that H2 evolution rate can be enhanced 15% using α-Fe2O3 nanoparticles coated with a thin Au layer. The degradation of methylene blue can also enhance 12% compared to photocatalyst α-Fe2O3 nanoparticles coated without Au layer.

[1]  Stephen B. Cronin,et al.  A Review of Surface Plasmon Resonance‐Enhanced Photocatalysis , 2013 .

[2]  Eric W. McFarland,et al.  Pt-Doped α-Fe2O3 Thin Films Active for Photoelectrochemical Water Splitting , 2008 .

[3]  C. Nebel,et al.  Photocatalysis: a source of energetic electrons. , 2013, Nature materials.

[4]  Steven Van Passel,et al.  Cost-effectiveness analysis to assess commercial TiO2 photocatalysts for acetaldehyde degradation in air , 2014, Chemical Papers.

[5]  A. Ismail,et al.  Metal-free porphyrin-sensitized mesoporous titania films for visible-light indoor air oxidation. , 2010, ChemSusChem.

[6]  Marta I. Litter,et al.  Photocatalytic properties of iron-doped titania semiconductors , 1996 .

[7]  Mohammad Khaja Nazeeruddin,et al.  Water photolysis at 12.3% efficiency via perovskite photovoltaics and Earth-abundant catalysts , 2014, Science.

[8]  Michael Grätzel,et al.  Translucent thin film Fe2O3 photoanodes for efficient water splitting by sunlight: nanostructure-directing effect of Si-doping. , 2006, Journal of the American Chemical Society.

[9]  Andrew G. Glen,et al.  APPL , 2001 .

[10]  Xiaodong Chen,et al.  Heterogeneous Visible Light Photocatalysis for Selective Organic Transformations , 2014 .

[11]  Michael Grätzel,et al.  New Benchmark for Water Photooxidation by Nanostructured α-Fe2O3 Films , 2006 .

[12]  A. Ismail,et al.  Synthesis and characterization of Y2O3/Fe2O3/TiO2 nanoparticles by sol–gel method , 2005 .

[13]  Belén Ferrer,et al.  Visible-light photocatalytic activity of gold nanoparticles supported on template-synthesized mesoporous titania for the decontamination of the chemical warfare agent Soman , 2010 .

[14]  Sang Ho Lee,et al.  Plasmon-enhanced photoelectrochemical water splitting with size-controllable gold nanodot arrays. , 2014, ACS nano.

[15]  Wenjun Zheng,et al.  α-Fe2O3: Hydrothermal Synthesis, Magnetic and Electrochemical Properties , 2010 .

[16]  Michael Grätzel,et al.  New benchmark for water photooxidation by nanostructured alpha-Fe2O3 films. , 2006, Journal of the American Chemical Society.

[17]  Shih-Yuan Lu,et al.  A cost-effective, stable, magnetically recyclable photocatalyst of ultra-high organic pollutant degradation efficiency: SnFe2O4 nanocrystals from a carrier solvent assisted interfacial reaction process , 2015 .

[18]  Yao-Tsung Tsai,et al.  Numerical investigation of surface plasmon resonance effects on photocatalytic activities using silver nanobeads photodeposited onto a titanium dioxide layer , 2014 .

[19]  Xiaodong Chen,et al.  Heterogeneous visible light photocatalysis for selective organic transformations. , 2014, Chemical Society reviews.

[20]  Tarek A. Kandiel,et al.  Mesoporous TiO2 nanostructures: a route to minimize Pt loading on titania photocatalysts for hydrogen production. , 2011, Physical chemistry chemical physics : PCCP.

[21]  S. Martin,et al.  Environmental Applications of Semiconductor Photocatalysis , 1995 .

[22]  Zhengjun Zhang,et al.  Enhanced photocatalytic activity of porous α-Fe2O3 films prepared by rapid thermal oxidation , 2008 .

[23]  Juan M. Coronado,et al.  Photocatalytic materials: recent achievements and near future trends , 2014 .

[24]  Yi-Hao Pai,et al.  Surface Plasmon assisted Cu(x)O photocatalyst for pure water splitting. , 2013, Optics express.

[25]  Chloe Doiron,et al.  Direct Plasmon-Driven Photoelectrocatalysis. , 2015, Nano letters.

[26]  Frank E. Osterloh,et al.  Photocatalytic water oxidation with suspended alpha-Fe2O3 particles-effects of nanoscaling , 2011 .