Fabrication and characterization of highly visible-light responsive TiO2/Fe2TiO5 ceramic

In the present paper, TiO2/Fe2TiO5 ceramic has been prepared through the reaction between iron (III) hydroxide and dispersed suspension of TiO2 particles. The experiments were done using addition of the ammonia solution into a suspension including dispersed titania particles in FeCl3 solution. Suspensions at different values of pH (2, 3, 5, and 7) were prepared. Consequent calcination of the washed product leads to crystallization of the Fe2TiO5 phase on the surface of titania particles. X-ray diffraction (XRD) results approve the formation of pseudobrookite Fe2TiO5 at 1000 degrees C. The rising of the suspension pH value from 5 to 7 cause to formation of Fe2O3 due to increasing the hydrated iron. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) results approve the existence of pseu-dobrookite structure Fe2TiO5 beside the TiO2 with the rutile structure. According to the UV-Vis diffuse reflec-tance spectra (UV-DRS) and Kubelka-Munk method, the synthesized sample at pH = 5 and consequent calcination at 1000 degrees C has two direct band gap energies of 2.28 and 2.93 eV that are related to the Fe2TiO5 coating and TiO2 support, respectively.