Abstract
In the present work, the photocatalytic degradation and mineralization of 4-tert-butylphenol in water was studied using Fe-doped TiO2 nanoparticles under UV light irradiation. Fe-doped TiO2 catalysts (0.5, 1, 2 and 4 wt.%) were prepared using wet impregnation and characterized via SEM/EDS, XRD, XRF and TEM, while their photocatalytic activity and stability was attended via total organic carbon, 4-tert-butyl phenol, acetic acid, formic acid and leached iron concentrations measurements. The effect of H2O2 addition was also examined. The 4% Fe/TiO2 demonstrated the highest photocatalytic efficiency in terms of total organic carbon removal (86%). The application of UV/H2O2 resulted in 31% total organic carbon removal and 100% 4-t-butylphenol conversion, however combining Fe/TiO2 catalysts with H2O2 under UV irradiation did not improve the photocatalytic performance. Increasing the content of iron on the catalyst from 0.5 to 4% considerably decreased the intermediates formed and increased the production of carbon dioxide. The photocatalytic degradation of 4-tert-butylphenol followed pseudo-second order kinetics. Leaching of iron was observed mainly in the case of 4% Fe/TiO2, but it was considered negligible taking into account the iron load on catalysts. The electric energy per order was found in the range of 28–147 kWh/m3/order and increased with increasing the iron content of the catalyst.
Original language | English |
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Article number | 19284 |
Number of pages | 15 |
Journal | Scientific Reports |
Volume | 9 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 17 Dec 2019 |
Funding
This research was funded by the Nazarbayev University ORAU project “Noble metals nanocomposites hyperactivity in heterogeneous non-catalytic and catalytic reactions (HYPERMAT)”, SOE2019012 (2019–2021), Grant Number 110119FD4536. The technical support of Core Facilities of Nazarbayev University is greatly acknowledged.
Keywords
- photocatalytic degradation
- photocatalytic activity
- photocatalytic performance