Abstract
In this work, well-shaped monodisperse mesoporous α-Fe2O3 nanoflowers were prepared by a facile template-free solvothermal route. The α-Fe2O3 nanoflowers with size of ~80 nm composed of nanobranches with width of ~10 nm. Contributed by the short charge-carrier diffuse distance of thin branches, the as-prepared mesoporous α-Fe2O3 nanoflowers possess notably higher phtotocatalytic activity in comparison with non-porous samples, commercial α-Fe2O3 and TiO2 by a model organic dye degradation reaction of Rhodamine B. The kinetic constant of mesoporous α-Fe2O3 nanoflowers for Rhodamine B degradation is about twice that of the non-porous materials and 10 times that of commercial α-Fe2O3 photocatalyst. Therefore, a simple method is developed to access the highly active mesoporous α-Fe2O3 nanoflowers, and the as-prepared material is potential to be used in photocatalysis or solar energy harvest.