A novel Fe/HNT visible light-driven heterogeneous photocatalyst: Development as a semiconductor and photocatalytic application

Fe/HNT (Iron/Halloysite-nanotube) heterogeneous semiconductor catalysts operating effectively under visible light were developed by using FeCl₃, FeSO₄ and Fe(OH)₃ sludge precipitated after electro-Fenton process and named as Fe/HNT-I, Fe/HNT-II and Fe/HNT-III, respectively. Chemical configuration and particle morphology of the catalysts were characterized with XRD, SEM-EDS and UV–vis DRS. Effect of the developed Fe/HNT photocatalysts was investigated for the degradation of Reactive Orange 16 (RO16) textile dye under visible light. The photocatalytic decolorization of RO16 was 95.6%, 99.3% and 96.6%, respectively. It was found that the photocatalytic performance of Fe/HNT-III catalyst under visible light was effective compared to Fe/HNT-I and Fe/HNT-II. The iron ratio in the catalyst's structure (Fe:HNT ratio 0.25, 0.5 and 0.75 (w/w)) and pH value (4, 7 and 9) in production phase were also changed to investigate the photocatalytic effect of Fe/HNT-III. An Fe:HNT ratio of 0.25 and a pH of 4 were determined as the optimum conditions for catalyst production. Optimum H₂O₂ dosage value was also investigated for photocatalytic oxidation process and determined to be 10 ?mM. Finally, the optimum conditions were further used for the degradation of Terbinafine hydrochloride (TerHCl) active drug and the treatment of wastewater from the textile and pharmaceutical industries.