Construct α-Fe2O3/rGO/PS composite structure for promoted spatial charge separation and exceptional catalytic activity in visible-light-driven photocatalysis-persulfate activation coupling system

Abstract

In this study, α-Fe2O3/rGO was smoothly synthesized by a one-step method and employed to activate persulfate (PS) for the degradation of Bisphenol A (BPA) under sunlight. During the degradation experiment, the degradation rates of BPA for PS, α-Fe2O3/8% rGO, and α-Fe2O3/8% rGO/PS were 6.6%, 47.6%, and 99.1%, respectively, indicating that the introduction of α-Fe2O3/rGO and PS significantly enhanced the photocatalytic efficiency because that photocatalytic process and PS activation coupling system not only inhibited the recombination of photo-induced carrier pairs, but also reduced the energy consumption of PS activation. Moreover, electron spin resonance spectroscopy (ESR) and trapping experiments were utilized to explore the active species generated during the reaction. The results showed that •OH and •SO42- were the principal oxidative species in this reaction system. These results showed that Fe-loaded rGO has great potential for activating PS to decompose pollutants in water.