Pyrrolic-N-doped graphene oxide/Fe2O3 mesocrystal nanocomposite: Efficient charge transfer and enhanced photo-Fenton catalytic activity

Abstract Though α-Fe 2 O 3 has attracted much attention in photocatalytic or Fenton-catalytic degradation of organic contaminants, its performance is still unsatisfactory due to fast recombination of electrons and holes in photocatalytic process and the difficult conversion of Fe(II) and Fe(III) in Fenton reaction. Herein, a pyrrolic N-doped graphene oxide/Fe 2 O 3 mesocrystal (NG-Fe 2 O 3 ) nanocomposite with good distribution is synthesized by a simple solvothermal method and adjusting the oxygen-containing groups on graphene oxide. The morphology of NG-Fe 2 O 3 contributes to a relatively large BET surface area and an intimate contact between NG and Fe 2 O 3 . These two important factors along with the excellent electro-conductivity of pyrrolic-N doped GO result in the efficient separation of electron-hole pairs and fast conversion of Fe(II)and Fe(III) in photo-Fenton synergistic reaction. Thus, a remarkably improved photo-Fenton catalytic activity of NG-Fe 2 O 3 is obtained. The degrading rate on methyl blue increases by 1.5 times and the conversion rate of glyphosate increases by 2.3 times under visible light irradiation, compared to pristine α-Fe 2 O 3 mesocrystals.