JURNAL KIMIA (JOURNAL OF CHEMISTRY) 14 (1), JANUARI 2020 p-ISSN 1907-9850 DOI: https://doi.org/10.24843/JCHEM.2020.v14.i01.p14 e-ISSN 2599-2740 82 SYNTHESIS AND CHARACTERIZATION OF PHOTOCATALYS Fe 2 O 3 PILLARED MONTMORILLONITE DOPED TiO 2 AND ITS APPLICATION FOR RHODAMINE B PHOTODEGRADATION USING VISIBLE LIGHT IRRADIATION D. A. D. N. Dewi * , I N. Simpen, I W. Suarsa Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Udayana University, Jimbaran, Bali, Indonesia *Email: natadev014@gmail.com ABSTRAK Lempung montmorillonit yang dimodifikasi dengan logam semikonduktor dapat berperan sebagai material fotokatalis. Pemilihan lempung montmorillonit didasarkan pada sifatnya yang mudah dimodifikasi serta memiliki luas permukaan spesifik yang tinggi. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk memodifikasi lempung montmorillonit menjadi material fotokatalis untuk degradasi rhodamin B. Lempung montmorillonit dapat dimodifikasi dengan pemilaran menggunakan Fe 2 O 3 dan diembankan dengan TiO 2 menjadi lempung montmorillonit terpilar Fe 2 O 3 terembakan TiO 2 (Fe 2 O 3 -PILC/TiO 2 ). Modifikasi dimaksudkan untuk meningkatkan luas permukaan spesifik serta jumlah situs aktif fotokatalis sehingga meningkatkan kemampuan fotodegradasi. Karakterisasi yang dilakukan antara lain karakterisasi keberhasilan pembentukan pilar menggunakan X-ray Diffraction (XRD), karakterisasi luas permukaan spesifik dengan metode BET (Bruneau, Emmet, dan Teller), karakterisasi jumlah situs asam-basa permukaan dengan metode titrasi. Fotokatalis dengan karakter terbaik adalah Fe 2 O 3 -PILC/TiO 2 1:3 dengan memiliki luas permukaan spesifik, jumlah situs asam dan basa berturut-turut 45,947 m 2 /g, 20,1736 x 10 23 situs/g dan 19,0044 x 10 23 situs/g. Hasil optimasi kondisi fotodegradasi rhodamin B optimum dengan sinar tampak pada pH 3 menggunakan 400 mg fotokatalis adalah 99,84%. Kata kunci: fotokatalis, Fe 2 O 3 , lempung montmorillonit, TiO 2 , rhodamin B ABSTRACT A montmorillonite clay modified with semiconductor metal can act as a photocatalyst material. Montmorillonite clays were chosen because of their natural characteristics which are easily to be modified and have high specific surface area. This research aims to modify montmorillonite clay into photocatalyst material for rhodamine B degradation. The montmorillonite clay was intercalated using Fe 2 O 3 to produce Fe 2 O 3 -pillared montmorillonite clay, then doped with TiO 2 to form a photocatalyst material Fe 2 O 3 -PILC/TiO 2 . Modifications were intended to increase the specific surface area and number of active photocatalyst sites and thus increase the ability of photodegradation. The characterization carried out included characterizing the pillar formation using X-ray Diffraction (XRD), specific surface area by the BET method (Bruneau, Emmet, and Teller), a the number of surface acid-base sites by the titration method. Photocatalyst with the best character was Fe 2 O 3 -PILC/TiO 2 1:3 with specific surface area, number of acid and base sites respectively 45,947 m 2 /g, 20,1736 x 1023 sites/g and 19,0044 x 1023 sites/g. The result of photodegradation at optimum condition with visible light at pH 3 using 400 mg photocatalyst was 99.84%. Keywords: photocatalyst, Fe 2 O 3 , montmorillonite clay, TiO 2 , rhodamine B INTRODUCTION The montmorillonite clay is a material that has been used as adsorbent. The popularity of montmorillonite material increases along the development of photodegradation methods in sewage treatment systems. Clay material is used as supported material for semiconductor photocatalysts. Montmorillonite clay was selected because of its natural characteristics which are easily modified and has high specific surface area. The structure of montmorillonite clay material consists of two layers, the alumina silicate layer and the interlayer with non-strongly attached cations such as Na + , K + , and Ca 2+ (Wijaya et al., 2002). The montmorillonite clay-layered structure allows the material to have cation