High-concentration organic dye removal using Fe2O3·3.9MoO3 nanowires as Fenton-like catalysts

In the past few years, nanomaterials have shown great potential for organic waste water treatment. Herein, we report the single-step ligand-free synthesis of Fe2O3·nMoO3 composites with different morphologies, including nanowires, bowknot-like microstructures, and urchin-like microstructures, through an oriented-attachment mechanism. It is the first time that Fe2O3·3.9MoO3 nanowires were synthesized successfully with tunable lengths from 5.1 μm to 37.4 μm as efficient and recyclable Fenton-like catalysts for Congo red. 97.8% degradation efficiency within 60 min and a kinetic constant of 9.0 × 10−3 L mg−1 min−1 according to the second order kinetic reaction equation were achieved. The degradation capacity for 250 mg L−1 Congo red is up to 231.4 mg g−1, which shows their excellent degradation ability at high dye concentrations. The Fe2O3·3.9MoO3 nanowires show great potential for organic pollutant removal.