Fe2B magnetic nanoparticles: Photocatalytic activity towards degradation of Bisphenol A

Abstract

Plasticizers such as Bisphenol A (BPA) are highly persistent organic pollutants that are present in raw water as well as in effluents from wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) at levels of parts per trillion (ng L−1) with a high potential to cause carcinogenic and teratogenic effects in the aquatic environment. This research aimed to evaluate the potential of catalytic oxidation to treat BPA with a novel iron boride (Fe2B) magnetic nanocatalyst. Several techniques were used for the catalyst characterization: X-ray diffractometry (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning/transmission electron microscopy (SEM/TEM), particle size analysis, and vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM). Experimental results indicated complete BPA degradation with Fe2B nanocatalyst where the operating conditions are BPA = 1 mg/L, pHo = 3.0, T = 25 °C, t = 120 min, and Fe2B = 0.01 g/L. The investigation of the catalytic mechanism showed that hydroxil radicals in the bulk solution are the dominant reactive species in the BPA degradation. Moreover, the removal efficiency did not decrease after 3 times usage of Fe2B nanocatalyst, which reveals its excellent reusability. The acute toxicity results of Fe2B indicated that the toxicity depended on the exposure time, the catalyst concentration, and the type of selected test organism. Thus, the laboratory-scale tests resulted that the synthesized Fe2B can be used as an effective catalyst for the treatment of BPA.