Iron Oxide/ Indium Oxide Nanocomposite Synthesis and Characterization

Ong, John (2020) Iron Oxide/ Indium Oxide Nanocomposite Synthesis and Characterization. Final Year Project (Bachelor), Tunku Abdul Rahman University College.

Text John Ong_Full Text.pdf Restricted to Registered users only Download (1MB)

Abstract

Water pollution is one of the most common types of environmental pollution that disrupts the ecosystem. This has been a concern since the 1960s, and people have been looking for ways to stem the tide of pollution through legislations. Even till today, scientists are still trying to address this issue. The study detailed herein is related to the synthesis of photocatalytic nanocomposites consisting of iron oxide/indium oxide (Fe2O3/ In2O3) and iron oxide/indium hydroxide (Fe2O3/ In(OH)3). The aim of this study is to synthesize Fe2O3/ In2O3 and then compare its photocatalytic activity in dye degradation to Fe2O3/ In(OH)3, indium hydroxide (In(OH)3) and indium oxide (In2O3) nanoparticles. The composites were synthesized by coprecipitation method and oxidation by heating at 400 oC in a furnace for 1 hour. The nanocomposite photocatalyst, Fe2O3/ In2O3 was characterized in term of crystallographic structure, average crystallite size and infrared absorption spectrum by using XRD and FTIR instruments. As a result, a mixed sample was produced. The synthesized sample showed characteristics of both Fe2O3/ In2O3, In(OH)3 and InOOH, showing that the oxidation was not complete. However, the method of coprecipitation and oxidation was proven to work. A higher temperature or longer time is needed for the oxidation to complete. The photocatalytic activity on dye degradation and TGA analysis was planned but not carried out as this project was cut short due to the Movement Control Order. Based on the results from a previous work done where In2O3 was dip-coated onto glass fiber and placed into a flow reactor to degrade dye, the sample was expected to show a higher amount of dye degraded as compared to TiO2. The phases in the sample were successfully identified using X-ray diffraction. The average crystallite size calculated using Scherrer’s equation was found to be nanoscale. From the FTIR results, the functional groups in the sample were identified.