Abstract
The rod-shaped form of crystalline β-FeOOH (akaganeite) was prepared by the template-free hydrothermal method with urea as the homogeneous precipitant. X-ray diffraction, field-emission scanning electron microscope and Fourier transform infrared spectrum were used to characterize the resulting products. The degradation of methyl orange (MO) was studied using the prepared nanostructure materials in a photo-Fenton-like process. MO degradation was effectively achieved by hydroxyl radicals that were generated in the heterogeneous catalysis process. Specific surface area of the prepared β-FeOOH was an important factor affecting the efficiency of MO degradation, which depended on the synthesis conditions such as the reaction temperature, the initial concentration of urea and FeCl3.6H2O as well as the n(urea)/n(Fe3+) ratio. The photodegradation efficiencies slightly decreased with the increase of initial pH in the range of 4.5 - 9.5, which indicated the prepared β-FeOOH catalyst can well overcome the drawback of a narrow pH range of homogeneous Fenton reaction. β-FeOOH catalysts loading and H2O2 concentration also play important effect on the degradation efficiency of MO. The prepared β-FeOOH showed good ability of reuse for multiple trials.
Highlights
Azo dyes are widely used in industries such as textiles, foodstuffs and leather and about 15% of them end up in wastewaters [1]
We presented a simple and environmentally friendly hydrothermal synthesis route to prepare uniform rod-shaped β-FeOOH nanostructures without adding any additives, and explore the catalytic activity of the prepared samples for the degradation of methyl orange (MO) in the presence of H2O2 under UV irradiation
The results obtained in the present study indicate that the prepared β-FeOOH as heterogeneous catalyst can overcome the drawback of a narrow pH range of homogeneous Fenton reaction
Summary
Azo dyes are widely used in industries such as textiles, foodstuffs and leather and about 15% of them end up in wastewaters [1]. Release of these colored wastewaters poses a serious threat to the environment. During the last two decades, photo-Fenton reactions have been the subject of numerous investigations as a kind of advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) [4,5,6,7]. The reaction process involves in situ generation of highly reactive hydroxyl radicals (OH), which can oxidize almost all the organic substrates owing to their high oxidation potential (E0 = +2.80 V). The main disadvantage of homogeneous Fenton process is the fact that the homo-
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