b*

Nanocrystalline α-Fe2O3 was synthesized by solution combustion method. The as-formed α-Fe2O3 nanopowder was characterized by Powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The as-formed nanopowder was used as photocatalyst for the degradation of the dye rhodamine B (RhB) under ultraviolet (UV) light illumination. The effects of pH, amount of the photocatalyst, amount of H2O2 and irradiation time were studied. It was found that nanocrystalline α-Fe2O3 acts as an efficient photocatalyst for the degradation of RhB in presence of H2O2 under UV light. At pH 10, in presence of H2O2 and UV light, maximum degradation of RhB was achieved for a catalyst dosage of 0.8g of the catalyst per liter of the dye solution in just 40 minutes