Effect of activation time on sulfur-doped porous carbon for efficient degradation of organic pollutants with persulfate

Abstract

Metal-free catalysis by using carbonaceous materials has propelled to the forefront in investigation of persulfate (PS) activation for green degradation of aqueous organic pollutants. Herein, sulfur-doped porous carbons (S-AC) were feasibly produced by chemical activation of Poly (phenylene sulphide) with KOH as activator. The influences of activation time on the porous structure, sulfur doping level, and chemical functionality of the as-prepared carbons were investigated by various characterization means. The S-AC samples were employed as metal-free catalysts to activate PS for phenol removal. Experiments results demonstrated that sulfur doping enhanced the catalytic activity of S-AC, and the S-AC-2 sample prepared by carbonization activation of 2 h was demonstrated to be a promising alternative to common metal oxides and other advanced carbon-based materials. Moreover, the S-AC-2/PS system could efficiently degrade various organics, which can be a green material for wastewater treatment and environmental remediation. In addition, the effects of various reaction parameters on phenol removal were discussed. It was found that S-AC-2 still presented an outstanding performance in a wide pH range. Furthermore, the PS activation mechanism over S-AC-2 was investigated by a series of classical radical quenching tests, EPR and Linear Sweep Voltammetry.