Abatement of an Azo Dye on Structured C-Nafion/Fe-Ion Surfaces by Photo-Fenton Reactions Leading to Carboxylate Intermediates with a Remarkable Biodegradability Increase of the Treated Solution

Key Considerations When Assessing Novel Fenton Catalysts: Iron Oxychloride (FeOCl) as a Case Study

Iron oxychloride (FeOCl) has been reported to be a highly efficient heterogeneous Fenton catalyst over a wide pH range. In order to determine the true catalytic performance of FeOCl, we simultaneously quantified the adsorptive and oxidative removal of formate, oxalate, and rhodamine-B (RhB) and the formation of RhB oxidation products at both pH 4.0 and 7.0. FeOCl was found to be a poor Fenton catalyst at either pH, as gauged by the oxidation of formate, oxalate, and rhodamine B and the decomposition of H₂O₂, in comparison with ferrihydrite (Fhy), one of the most common Fe-containing Fenton catalysts. The adsorption of target contaminants to FeOCl and homogeneous Fenton processes, induced by dissolved iron, resulted in overevaluation of the catalytic performance of FeOCl, especially for (i) the use of strongly adsorbing target compounds, without consideration of the role of adsorption in their removal and (ii) exceedingly high concentrations of H₂O₂ to remove trace quantities of target contaminants. Overall, this study highlights that the systematic quantification of H₂O₂ decomposition, target compound adsorption, and oxidation as well as the concentrations of oxidized products formed are prerequisites for unequivocal elucidation of the catalytic nature and reaction mechanism of solid Fenton catalysts.

The Role of Ultrasound on Advanced Oxidation Processes

This chapter describes the use of ultrasound in remediation of wastewater contaminated with organic pollutants in the absence and presence of other advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) such as sonolysis, sono-ozone process, sonophotocatalysis, sonoFenton systems and sonophoto-Fenton methods in detail. All these methods are explained with the suitable literature illustrations. In most of the cases, hybrid AOPs (combination of ultrasound with one or more AOPs) resulted in superior efficacy to that of individual AOP. The advantageous effects such as additive and synergistic effects obtained by operating the hybrid AOPs are highlighted with appropriate examples. It is worth to mention here that the utilization of ultrasound is not only restricted in preparation of modern active catalysts but also extensively used for the wastewater treatment. Interestingly, ultrasound coupled AOPs are operationally simple, efficient, and environmentally benign, and can be readily applied for large scale industrial processes which make them economically viable.

Fabrication of porous Fe2O3/PTFE nanofiber membranes and their application as a catalyst for dye degradation

Novel porous polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) nanofiber membranes containing Fe₂O₃(Fe₂O₃/PTFE), used as a heterogeneous catalyst, were preparedviaa three-step method by electrospinning, immersion and calcination.

Polydopamine-Coated Porous Substrates as a Platform for Mineralized β-FeOOH Nanorods with Photocatalysis under Sunlight

Immobilization of photo-Fenton catalysts on porous materials is crucial to the efficiency and stability for water purification. Here we report polydopamine (PDA)-coated porous substrates as a platform for in situ mineralizing β-FeOOH nanorods with enhanced photocatalytic performance under sunlight. The PDA coating plays multiple roles as an adhesive interface, a medium inducing mineral generation, and an electron transfer layer. The mineralized β-FeOOH nanorods perfectly wrap various porous substrates and are stable on the substrates that have a PDA coating. The immobilized β-FeOOH nanorods have been shown to be efficient for degrading dyes in water via a photo-Fenton reaction. The degradation efficiency reaches approximately 100% in 60 min when the reaction was carried out with H2O2 under visible light, and it remains higher than 90% after five cycles. We demonstrate that the PDA coating promotes electron transfer to reduce the electron-hole recombination rate. As a result, the β-FeOOH nanorods wrapped on the PDA-coated substrates show enhanced photocatalytic performance under direct sunlight in the presence of H2O2. Moreover, this versatile platform using porous materials as the substrate is useful in fabricating β-FeOOH nanorods-based membrane reactor for wastewater treatment.

Heterogeneous photo-Fenton degradation of acid red B over Fe2O3 supported on activated carbon fiber

Fe2O3 supported on activated carbon fiber (Fe2O3/ACF) was prepared via an impregnation method and characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and BET analysis. The results indicated that Fe2O3 with small particle size was highly dispersed on the surface of the ACF and the introduction of Fe2O3 did not change the ACF pore structure. Fe2O3/ACF exhibited a higher Fenton efficiency for the degradation of acid red B (ARB), especially under simulated solar irradiation. Complete decoloration of the ARB solution and 43% removal of TOC could be achieved within 200 min under optimal conditions. It was verified that more ˙OH radicals were generated in the photo-assisted Fenton process and involved as active species in ARB degradation. FTIR analysis indicated that the degradation of ARB was initiated through the cleavage of -N=N-, followed by hydroxylation and opening of phenyl rings to form aliphatic acids, and further oxidation of aliphatic acids would produce CO2 and H2O. Moreover, Fe2O3/ACF maintained its activity after being reused 4 times and the release of iron from the catalyst was found to be insignificant during the Fenton and photo-Fenton processes, indicating that Fe2O3/ACF had good long-term stability.

Coaxial solution blowing of modified hollow polyacrylonitrile (PAN) nanofiber Fe complex (Fe-AO-CSB-HPAN) as a heterogeneous Fenton photocatalyst for organic dye degradation

The dyes degradation performance of the modified hollow polyacrylonitrile Fe complex (Fe-AO-CSB-HPAN) prepared by coaxial solution blowing (CSB).

Novel FeOx–polyethylene transparent films: synthesis and mechanism of surface regeneration

The first evidence for the synthesis of a uniform, adhesive polyethylene–FeOx (PE–FeOx) surface leading efficiently to bacterial inactivation is addressed in this study.

Hierarchical mesoporous MnO2 superstructures synthesized by soft-interface method and their catalytic performances

To obtain a highly efficient and stable heterogeneous catalyst in catalytic wet hydrogen peroxide oxidation, we have successfully synthesized hierarchical mesoporous manganese dioxide (MnO2) superstructures by a facile and environmental friendly method on a soft-interface between CH2Cl2 and H2O without templates. The main crystal phase of as-prepared MnO2 was proved to be ε-MnO2 by X-ray diffraction techniques. The structure characterizations indicated that the hierarchical MnO2 superstructures were composed of urchin-like MnO2 hollow submicrospheres assembled by one-dimension nanorods building blocks with rich mesoporosity. The nitrogen sorption analysis confirmed that the as-synthesized MnO2 has an average pore diameter of 5.87 nm, mesoporous volume of 0.451 cm(3) g(-1), and specific surface area of 219.3 m(2) g(-1). Further investigations revealed that a possible formation mechanism of this unique hierarchical superstructure depended upon the synthesis conditions. The catalytic performances of the hierarchical mesoporous MnO2 superstructures were evaluated in catalytic degradation of methylene blue in the presence of H2O2 at neutral pH, which demonstrated highly efficient catalytic degradation of the organic pollutant methylene blue using hierarchical mesoporous MnO2 superstructures as catalyst at room temperature.

Efficient Fenton-like La–Cu–O/SBA-15 catalyst for the degradation of organic dyes under ambient conditions

Supported La–Cu–O/SBA-15 catalyst shows good adsorption capacity and efficient ability for RhB degradation, with the lowest turnover frequency of 0.11 h⁻¹ within 30 min at a weight ratio of RhB to catalyst equal to 0.08. The excellent catalytic performance is due to a support effect and/or a synergistic effect between La–Cu–O and SBA-15.

Solar active fire clay based hetero-Fenton catalyst over a wide pH range for degradation of Acid Violet 7

Fe(III) immobilized fire clay (Fe-FC) was prepared using ferric nitrate by solid state dispersion method and this hetero-Fenton catalyst was applied for the degradation of Acid Violet 7 (AV 7) under natural sunlight. The 26% ferric nitrate loaded fire clay was found to be most efficient. The experimental conditions such as solution pH, H2O2 concentration for efficient degradation of AV 7 have been determined. Unlike Fenton catalyst, Fe-FC is photoactive over a wide pH range of 3-7. This catalyst was found to be stable and reusable. The GC-MS analysis of experimental solutions during irradiation revealed the formation of 2,8-diaminonaphthalene-1,3,6-triol, 8-aminonaphthalene-1,2,3,6-tetrol, 2-aminonaphthalene-1,3,6,8-tetrol and 2-aminobenzene-1,3-diol/5-aminonbenzene-1,3-diol/ 2-aminobenzene-1,4-diol as intermediates. The 26% ferric nitrate loaded fire clay was characterized by XRD, ICP-AES, BET surface area, FT-IR, SEM-EDS and UV-DRS studies.

Highly efficient decomposition of organic dye by aqueous-solid phase transfer and in situ photocatalysis using hierarchical copper phthalocyanine hollow spheres

The hierarchical tetranitro copper phthalocyanine (TNCuPc) hollow spheres were fabricated by a simple solvothermal method. The formation mechanism was proposed based on the evolution of morphology as a function of solvothermal time, which involved the initial formation of nanoparticles followed by their self-aggregation to microspheres and transformation into hierarchical hollow spheres by Ostwald ripening. Furthermore, the hierarchical TNCuPc hollow spheres exhibited high adsorption capacity and excellent simultaneously visible-light-driven photocatalytic performance for Rhodamine B (RB) under visible light. A possible mechanism for the "aqueous-solid phase transfer and in situ photocatalysis" was suggested. Repetitive tests showed that the hierarchical TNCuPc hollow spheres maintained high catalytic activity over several cycles, and it had a better regeneration capability under mild conditions.

Decolorization of methylene blue in layered manganese oxide suspension with H2O2

Layered birnessite-type manganese oxides (Na-OL-1) were prepared via a redox reaction involving MnO(4)(-) and Mn(2+) under markedly alkaline conditions. According to the XRD analysis, the resulting material exhibited a well-crystallized octahedral layer (OL) structure with several different phases, including β-MnOOH, α-MnOOH and γ-Mn(3)O(4). The catalyst was highly effective for the decolorization and degradation of methylene blue (MB) in the presence of H(2)O(2) at neutral pH. The tested MB was completely decolorized in Na-OL-1 suspension by the fraction dosing of H(2)O(2) (556.5mM at the beginning and then 183.8mM at 40 min). Based on the studies of electron spin resonance and the effect of radical scavengers, the (1)O(2) and O(2)(-) were the main reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the reaction. It was found that both oxygen and ROS were generated from the decomposition of H(2)O(2) in Na-OL-1 suspension, wherein the decomposition pathways were proposed. The generation of H(2)O(2) in Na-OL-1 suspension at air atmosphere indicated that the existence of multivalent manganese oxides greatly enhanced the interfacial electron transfer, leading to the high activity of Na-OL-1.

Magnetic Fe(2)MO(4) (M:Fe, Mn) activated carbons: fabrication, characterization and heterogeneous Fenton oxidation of methyl orange

We present a simple and efficient method for the fabrication of magnetic Fe(2)MO(4) (M:Fe and Mn) activated carbons (Fe(2)MO(4)/AC-H, M:Fe and Mn) by impregnating the activated carbon with simultaneous magnetic precursor and carbon modifying agent followed by calcination. The obtained samples were characterized by nitrogen adsorption isotherms, X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM), and the catalytic activity in heterogeneous Fenton oxidation of methyl orange (MO) was evaluated. The resulting Fe(2)MnO(4)/AC-H showed higher catalytic activity in the methyl orange oxidation than Fe(3)O(4)/AC-H. The effect of operational parameters (pH, catalyst loading H(2)O(2) dosage and initial MO concentration) on degradation performance of the oxidation process was investigated. Stability and reusability of selected catalyst were also tested.

Heterogeneous photo-Fenton degradation of polyacrylamide in aqueous solution over Fe(III)-SiO(2) catalyst

This article presents preparation, characterization and evaluation of heterogeneous Fe(III)-SiO(2) catalysts for the photo-Fenton degradation of polyacrylamide (PAM) in aqueous solution. Fe(III)-SiO(2) catalysts are prepared by impregnation method with two iron salts as precursors, namely Fe(NO(3))(3) and FeSO(4), and are characterized by Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) methods. The irradiated Fe(III)-SiO(2) is complexed with 1,10-phenanthroline, then is measured by UV-vis-diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (UV-vis-DRS) and XPS to confirm the oxidation state of Fe in solid state. By investigating the photo-Fenton degradation of PAM in aqueous solution, the results indicate that Fe(III)-SiO(2) catalysts exhibit an excellent photocatalytic activity in the degradation of PAM. Moreover, the precursor species and the OH(-)/Fe mole ratio affect the photocatalytic activity of Fe(III)-SiO(2) catalysts to a certain extent. Finally, the amount of Fe ions leaching from the Fe(III)-SiO(2) catalysts is much low.

Highly efficient decomposition of organic dyes by aqueous-fiber phase transfer and in situ catalytic oxidation using fiber-supported cobalt phthalocyanine

A novel metallophthalocyanine derivative, cobalt tetra (2,4-dichloro-1,3,5-triazine) aminophthalocyanine (Co-TDTAPc), was prepared and immobilized on cellulosic fiber by covalent bond to obtain a supported oxidation catalyst (Co-TDTAPc-F). Co-TDTAPc-F/H202 system based on phase-transfer catalytic oxidation for decomposing dyes, including acid, reactive, and direct dyes, has been investigated thoroughly. Compared to traditional adsorption technologies and advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) for dye treatment, Co-TDTAPc-F/H202 combines the advantages of both and is more efficient and more effective. Azo dyes such as C. I. Acid Red 1 (AR1) can be quickly adsorbed onto/into the fiber from aqueous solution and decomposed in situ simultaneously in the presence of Co-TDTAPc-F and H2O2. It has been found that the reaction process is not affected by the visible light. Furthermore, it turns the negative effect of NaCl normally observed in homogeneous catalysis into positive one. The catalytic reaction can proceed at a wide pH range from acidic to alkaline. In 60 min, more than 98% of AR1 was eliminated at initial pH 2. In 90 min, about 40% of the carbon was found mineralized as determined by the analysis of the residual total organic carbon. The high-performance liquid chromatography result indicated that a substantial amount of the starting AR1 was converted to other organic products, while gas chromatography/mass spectrometry analysis showed the rest of the carbon existed mainly as small molecular biodegradable aliphatic carboxylic compounds such as oxalic acid, malonic acid, and maleic acid, etc. Co-TDTAPc-F is stable, causes no secondary pollution, and remains efficient in repetitive test cycles with no obvious degradation of catalytic activity.

Photoassisted degradation of azodyes over FeOxH2x-3/Fe0 in the presence of H2O2 at neutral pH values

Fe0 was calcined in air at 200 degrees C and showed enhanced activity in three cycling runs for the degradation of acid red B (ARB) in the presence of H2O2 under UVA irradiation. Subsequently, the catalyst's activity was maintained effectively after 10 successive cycling experiments. Moreover, the catalyst was found to be highly effective for the degradation of nonbiodegradable azodyes ARB, reactive brilliant red X-3B, reactive red K-2G, cationic red X-GRL, and cationic blue X-GRL at neutral pH values. On the basis of characterization by X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and Fourier transform infrared spectra, the surface layer of the catalyst was mainly composed of alpha-FeOOH and gamma-Fe2O3, and the core was Fe0 (FeOxH2x-3/ Fe0). Fe,OxH2x3/Fe0 was very easily recovered from the reaction system by magnetic separation. The degradation of azodyes came from the synergistic effect of the catalysis of galvanic cells and the oxidation of heterogeneous photo-Fenton reaction on the basis of all information obtained under different experimental conditions. By the total organic carbon and GC-MS analysis, the degradation process of ARB was shown to proceed with decolorization and naphthalene ring openings into CO2 and small organic acid.

Synthesis, testing, and characterization of a novel Nafion membrane with superior performance in photoassisted immobilized Fenton catalysis

A new type of Nafion/Fe structured membrane ensuring faster kinetics, higher efficiency, and mechanical properties has been prepared and will be compared in its performance with the Fe-exchanged commercial Dupont 117 Nafion/Fe membrane during the abatement of model organic compounds. During the casting of the laboratory Nafion sample, the iron ions were introduced directly into the Nafion oligomer solution. This novel laboratory Nafion/Fe was tested as an immobilized catalyst in the degradation of several toxic pollutants showing a faster photoassisted degradation kinetics and a wider effective photocatalytic pH range compared to the Fe-exchanged commercial Dupont 117 Nafion/Fe membrane. When carrying out Ar ion sputtering of the 50 topmost catalyst layers, evidence is presented by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy that Fe ions are found in the inner Nafion layers and seem to be responsible for the immobilized photoassisted Fenton processes leading to the degradation of 4-chorophenol (4-CP) taken as a model organic pollutant for the degradation process reported in this study. In the laboratory sample, the iron oxy/hydroxy Nafion moiety undergoes a transition to a more stable Nafion/Fe species during 4-CP degradation as determined by X-ray diffraction. This more stable form shows a higher iron dispersion and crystallinity compared to the fresh sample and is stabilized by the Nafion matrix avoiding the formation of separate iron phases. By infrared absorption (Fourier transform infrared), evidence is presented for the band of akaganeite-like species at 870 cm(-1) on the laboratory Nafion/Fe sample. This band disappears after 4-CP degradation because of the formation of the more highly dispersed iron species. Sputtering experiments show a decrease of F-containing groups in the laboratory Nafion/Fe samples closer to the catalyst upper layer while the amounts of Fe, C, and in particular O species increase in the topmost layer(s). In particular, the oxygenated species develop in the Nafion/Fe up to approximately 50 A below the catalyst surface. These species remain stable during the long-term Nafion/Fe degradation of 4-CP. Dynamo-mechanical analysis performed on laboratory Nafion/ Fe membrane samples revealed that these membranes possessed a greater mechanical modulus and resistance than the commercial Dupont 117 Nafion membrane.