A type II heterojunction α-Fe2O3/g-C3N4 for the heterogeneous photo-Fenton degradation of phenol

Fuxiang Ge; Xuehua Li; Mian Wu; Hui Ding; Xiaobing Li

doi:10.1039/D1RA09282K

A type II heterojunction α-Fe₂O₃/g-C₃N₄ for the heterogeneous photo-Fenton degradation of phenol†

Fuxiang Ge,^ab Xuehua Li,^a Mian Wu,^c Hui Ding^c and Xiaobing Li

*^a

Author affiliations

* Corresponding authors

^a National Engineering Research Center of Coal Preparation and Purification, China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou 221000, Jiangsu, China
E-mail: lixh@cumt.edu.cn

^b Kaifeng Ecological and Environmental Monitoring Center, Henan Province, China

^c School of Chemical Engineering &Technology, China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou, Jiangsu, China

Abstract

The heterogeneous photo-Fenton reaction is an effective method of chemical oxidation to remove phenol in wastewater with environmental friendliness and sustainability. Herein, the composite α-Fe₂O₃/g-C₃N₄, as a catalyst of the heterogeneous photo-Fenton reaction, has been synthesized by hydrothermal-calcination method using the abundant and low-cost FeCl₃·6H₂O and g-C₃N₄ as raw materials. The influence of the annealing temperature during calcination was also investigated. The UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectra of samples show that the composite α-Fe₂O₃/g-C₃N₄ possesses the widest light response range. Furthermore, the transient photocurrent response curves demonstrated the strongest intensity of α-Fe₂O₃/g-C₃N₄. The annealed α-Fe₂O₃/g-C₃N₄ is indicative of the highest degradation efficiency in all samples due to the improvement of the charge transfer ability caused by the tight heterojunction structure. The results of the scavenger trapping experiments show that the hydroxyl radical was the main active species in degradation. Based on experimental results, a type II heterojunction should be built in the composite α-Fe₂O₃/g-C₃N₄, driving the photoelectrons transfer and migration by internal electronic field. This work provides a facile and new method to synthesize α-Fe₂O₃/g-C₃N₄ as an effective heterogeneous photo-Fenton catalyst for environmental remediation.

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Article information

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1039/D1RA09282K
Article type: Paper
Submitted: 23 Dec 2021
Accepted: 18 Feb 2022
First published: 16 Mar 2022
This article is Open Access

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RSC Adv., 2022,12, 8300-8309

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A type II heterojunction α-Fe₂O₃/g-C₃N₄ for the heterogeneous photo-Fenton degradation of phenol

F. Ge, X. Li, M. Wu, H. Ding and X. Li, RSC Adv., 2022, 12, 8300 DOI: 10.1039/D1RA09282K

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