Construction of a Fe[sbnd]Cu/ceramic composite with surface electric field and far-infrared properties for effective photo-Fenton catalytic degradation of the wastewater generated from H2O2 production

Abstract

To solve the complex processes for the treatment of the wastewater generated from hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) production and the defects of traditional Fenton reaction, a novel Fe–Cu/ceramic composite was synthesized by a combustion method and applied as a photo-Fenton catalyst for the degradation of the wastewater under visible-light irradiation. The enhancement of visible-light absorption, effective separation of electron hole pairs and stronger redox capacity of Fe–Cu/ceramic could be attributed to the surface electric field and far-infrared properties of the ceramic, thus greatly promoting its catalytic activity compared to bare Fe–Cu. Under optimized conditions (pH = 5, 50 mM of H2O2, and 4.0 g L1 of FeCu/ceramic catalyst), the COD removal rate of the wastewater achieved 96.5% within 3 h. In addition, the increased concentration of dissolved oxygen and the smaller water clusters induced by surface electric field and far-infrared ray were also beneficial for the degradation of pollutants. The excellent reusability could be attributed to the uniformly anchored bare Fe–Cu with Fe–O–Al and Cu–O–Al bonds, which reduced the leaching of metal ions. This work provides a new idea for the treatment of practical wastewater with high-efficient natural mineral-based catalysts, which possess unique performance.