Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate Modified FeCo2O4 with Enhanced Fenton-Like Activity at Neutral pH

Abstract

In this work, FeCo2O4 was prepared by a simple coprecipitation method and investigated as a heterogeneous Fenton catalyst. The influences of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) on the structure, surface charge, electron transfer ability, and catalytic activity of FeCo2O4 were investigated. FeCo2O4–S prepared with SDS exhibited much higher catalytic activity for the degradation of methylene blue (MB) in aqueous solution than pure FeCo2O4, which can be attributed to its higher electron transfer ability. The adsorbed SDS accelerated the reduction of surface Fe3+ to Fe2+ by H2O2 and •O2–. The high concentration of surface Fe2+ on FeCo2O4–S during the reaction promoted the decomposition of H2O2 into •OH, which was the main active specie for the degradation of MB. Furthermore, SDS increased the adsorption capacity of the catalyst toward MB, thus facilitating the reaction between adsorbed MB and •OH generated on the catalyst surface.