Application of α-FeO(OH) microspheres for photocatalytic degradation of methyl orange

α-FeO(OH) has unique advantage in photocatalytic degradation of azo dye.α-FeO(OH)microspheres were prepared via a hydrothermal route,and were used as the catalyst to degrade methyl orange.The adsorption effect of α-FeO(OH) microspheres for methyl orange and the photocatalytic degradation of methyl orange in α-FeO(OH) microspheres/H2O2/Vis system were researched.The mechanism of photocatalytic degradation for methyl orange in the system of α-FeO(OH) microspheres /H2O2/Vis was discussed.The catalysts were characterized by XRD and SEM techniques.The influence of pH and H2O2concentration on catalyst performance was investigated.The results showed that the catalyst possessed the best catalytic effect under the condition of pH =6.5 and H2O2concentration 1.2 mol·L- 1.The degradation of methyl orange over α-FeO(OH) microspheres and commercial α-FeO(OH) were 94.3% and 28.6%,respectively.The catalytic property of α-FeO(OH) microspheres was obviously better than that of commercial α-FeO(OH).It follows from that the property of α-FeO(OH) has great influence on its structure and morphology.