Open AccessNovel Magnetic Fe3O4/α-FeOOH Nanocomposites and Their Enhanced Mechanism for Tetracycline Hydrochloride Removal in the Visible Photo-Fenton Process
Author(s) -
Xinyi Huang,
Hui Zhou,
Xiaojun Yue,
Songlin Ran,
Jianhua Zhu
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
acs omega
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.779
H-Index - 40
ISSN - 2470-1343
DOI - 10.1021/acsomega.1c00204
Subject(s) - nanocomposite , catalysis , photocatalysis , adsorption , tetracycline hydrochloride , visible spectrum , mineralization (soil science) , degradation (telecommunications) , hydrothermal circulation , radical , chemical engineering , photochemistry , specific surface area , heterojunction , chemistry , absorption (acoustics) , materials science , tetracycline , nanotechnology , organic chemistry , nitrogen , composite material , computer science , engineering , telecommunications , biochemistry , antibiotics , optoelectronics
Magnetic Fe 3 O 4 /α-FeOOH heterojunction nanocomposites (denoted as Fe-NCs) have been synthesized by a fast one-pot hydrothermal method. The obtained Fe-NCs contain rich micropores with a high surface area of 135.15 m 2 /g. The different phases in the composites can efficiently enhance the visible-light absorption, improving the separation and transfer of photogenerated electron-hole pairs during the photocatalytic reaction. Thus, they show excellent degradation and mineralization of tetracycline (TC) over a wide pH range (5-9) in the visible photo-Fenton reaction. Especially, the catalyst exhibits the highest adsorption capacity toward TC at a neutral pH, which facilitates the surface reactions of TC with active species. Experiments evidence that the high production of photogenerated holes and superoxide radicals (O 2 •- ) in Fe-NCs are favorable to the high catalytic efficiency. Combined with liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, the possible pathway toward TC degradation was proposed.