The effect of additional iron sand on the material properties of zinc oxide (ZnO)

Synthesis of Zn1-xFexO has been carried out with various concentrations of iron (Fe) x= 0%, 4%, and 8% that was prepared by coprecipitation method using sodium hydroxide, HCl, and natural iron sand from Lemo beach, South Sulawesi-Indonesia. The effect of the additional iron sand on the characteristics of ZnO in the degradation of Congo Red (CR) dye was also observed and analyzed using XRF (X-Ray Fluorescence). Spectroscopy of FTIR (Fourier Transform Infrared) and UV-Vis were used to characterize the optical properties of the nanoparticles. The results of XRF (X-Ray Fluorescence) showed that the iron sand was dominated by Fe (82,48%), Ti (8,87%), Cr (5,07%), Mn (2,25%), and several other minor elements. The highest percentage of Fe element was confirmed as iron oxide in Fe2O3 (Ferrite Oxide). FTIR characterization was recorded in the range of 300 to 4000 cm−1. UV-Vis measurements were used to investigate the absorption of different samples in the wavelength range of 300 to 700 nm. UV-Vis measurements show that the band gap energy was decreased with increased Fe concentrations. The Photocatalytic activity was found that the addition of Fe doping was better than pure ZnO.