Solar light induced photocatalytic activation of peroxymonosulfate by ultra-thin Ti3+ self-doped Fe2O3/TiO2 nanoflakes for the degradation of naphthalene

Ti3+ self-doped Fe2O3/TiO2 ultra-thin nanoflakes have been fabricated on Ti-substrate by a facile hydrothermal route. The high solar light harvest by Ti3+ and oxygen vacancies makes Ti3+ self-doped Fe2O3/TiO2 ultra-thin nanoflakes an attractive candidate for photo-activation of peroxymonosulfate (HSO5−) for the degradation of naphthalene (NAP). The Fe2O3/TiO2 ultra-thin nanoflakes synthesized with 0.053 M of FeCl3 (TF3) exhibited high concentrations of Ti3+ and oxygen vacancies. TF3/ HSO5−/solar light system showed substantial increases in the degradation of NAP with kapp value of 0.1384 min–1 compared to 0.057 min–1 when no HSO5− was added to the system. The proposed system also showed appreciable degradation of NAP in real water samples. Based on scavenger studies, SO4•−, •OH, h+ and O2•− are generated in the reaction system. Importantly, the toxicity results indicated that the proposed system (TF3/HSO5−/solar light) is an efficient treatment process for detoxifying water contaminated with NAP.