Biomaterial-based metal-phthalocyanine/metal oxide microspheres for photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants under visible light

Abstract

Developing new eco-friendly photocatalytic materials and improving their performance under visible light are key areas of research in organic pollutant photodegradation. In this study, photocatalytic materials containing metal phthalocyanines (MPc) and metal oxides were prepared through a sol-gel process using gellan gum (GG) as the carrier. The adsorption capabilities of these new photocatalytic materials and their efficiency at decomposing Rhodamine B (RhB) under full-spectrum light irradiation were measured using UV spectroscopy and synchronous fluorescence spectrometry. The biomaterial with CoPc/CoO exhibited a higher photocatalytic effectiveness than that with TiO2, and has potential as a substitute for TiO2. Although the photocatalytic effect of GG composited with FePc/FeO was weaker than that of Co-containing materials, it still exhibited some photocatalytic activity. The superior photocatalytic degradation of RhB was attributed to the good adsorption properties of gellan gum, the fine light absorption properties of CoPc material, and the significant synergy and cooperation of the Fenton effect and photocatalysis within the microspheres. Furthermore, the CoPc/CoO/GG microspheres exhibited good photocatalytic degradation effects on nitrobenzene, acetophenone, flurofloxacin, and other organic matters. The good photocatalytic performance proved that the biomaterial-based metal-phthalocyanine/metal oxide microspheres have great potential as a promising photocatalytic candidate for removing organic pollutants.