Boosting organic pollutants degradation by surface defects of iron oxide nanofibers

The release of organic dyes is a serious concern to the water resources and the quality of the environment, and there is a strong necessity to create effective catalysts that can degrade organic dyes. Here, the nanofibers of iron (III) oxide were produced using the electrospinning technique and the high-temperature firing technique, and the oxygen vacancy defects on the surfaces of the nanofibers were formed using the reduction technique of NaBH4. The findings show that the surface oxygen vacancies significantly enhance the catalytic activity. Specifically, the Fe2O3−VO nanofibers achieved near-complete degradation of MB within 4 minutes, with a reaction rate constant (k≈0.95 min-1) approximately 68 times higher than that of pristine nanofibers. Such optimized properties not only demonstrate the potential of defect-engineered iron oxide in organic dye treatment but also provide insights into the structural design of highly effective catalysts for sustainable water remediation.