Efficient H2O2 Oxidation of Organic Dyes Catalyzed by Simple Copper(II) Ions in Bicarbonate Aqueous Solution

Oxidation of disinfectants with Cl-substituted structure by a Fenton-like system Cu(2+)/H2O2 and analysis on their structure-reactivity relationship

As widely used chemicals intended to protect human being from infection of microorganisms, disinfectants are ubiquitous in the environment. Among them chlorine-substituted phenol is a basic structure in many disinfectant molecules. Removal of these pollutants from wastewater is of great concern. The oxidative degradation of antimicrobial agents such as triclosan, chlorofene, and dichlorofene by a Fenton-like system Cu(2+)/H2O2 was examined. Reaction conditions such as temperature, initial concentrations of H2O2 and Cu(2+), and pH were optimized using triclosan as a representative. The degradation kinetics of the above disinfectants followed pseudo-first-order kinetics under the investigated conditions. Fourteen chlorophenols (CPs) with different chlorine substitution were also studied to evaluate the influence of molecular structure on the degradation process in the Cu(2+)/H2O2 system. Fourteen structure-related parameters were calculated using Gaussian 09 program. A quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) model was established using SPSS software with measured rate constant (k) as dependent variable and calculated molecular descriptors as independent variables. A three-parameter model including energy of HOMO (E homo), molar heat capacity at constant volume (Cv(θ)), and the most positive net charge of hydrogen atoms (qH(+)) was selected for k prediction, with correlation coefficient R(2) = 0.878. Analyses of the model demonstrated that the Cv(θ) was the most significant factor affecting the k of chlorophenols. Variance analysis and standard t-value test were used to validate the model.

Magnetic core-shell CuFe2O4@C3N4 hybrids for visible light photocatalysis of Orange II

Novel CuFe2O4@C3N4 core-shell photocatalysts were fabricated through a self-assembly method and characterized by X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy and Uv-vis diffuse reflection spectroscopy. The photocatalytic performances of the CuFe2O4@C3N4 catalysts were evaluated in photo Fenton-like discoloration of Orange II dye using H2O2 as an oxidant under visible-light irradiation (λ>420 nm). It was found the CuFe2O4@C3N4 hybrid (mass ratio of CuFe2O4/g-C3N4 at 2:1) exhibits a superior activity as compared with single component of CuFe2O4 or g-C3N4 and the mixture of g-C3N4 and CuFe2O4, due to the elevation of the separation efficiency of photoinduced electron-hole pairs, resulted from the heterojunction between the interfaces of g-C3N4 and CuFe2O4. The quenching tests of different scavengers displayed that O2(•-), OH and h(+) are responsible for the Orange II decolorization. In addition, the effects of initial concentration of the dye contaminant (0.014-0.140 mM), different anions (Cl(-), SO4(2-), NO3(-), CH3COO(-) and HCO3(-)) and temperature (15-65 °C) in photoreaction were also investigated. The CuFe2O4@C3N4 sample exhibited stable performance without obvious loss of catalytic activity after five successive runs, showing a promising application for the photo-oxidative degradation of environmental contaminants.

Heterogeneous Degradation of Organic Pollutants by Persulfate Activated by CuO-Fe3O4: Mechanism, Stability, and Effects of pH and Bicarbonate Ions

Magnetic CuO-Fe3O4 composite was fabricated by a simple hydrothermal method and characterized as a heterogeneous catalyst for phenol degradation. The effects of pH and bicarbonate ions on catalytic activity were extensively evaluated in view of the practical applications. The results indicated that an increase of solution pH and the presence of bicarbonate ions were beneficial for the removal of phenol in the CuO-Fe3O4 coupled with persulfate (PS) process. Almost 100% mineralization of 0.1 mM phenol can be achieved in 120 min by using 0.3 g/L CuO-Fe3O4 and 5.0 mM PS at pH 11.0 or in the presence of 3.0 mM bicarbonate. The positive effect of bicarbonate ion is probably due to the suppression of copper leaching as well as the formation of Cu(III). The reuse of catalyst at pH0 11.0 and 5.6 showed that the catalyst remains a high level of stability at alkaline condition (e.g., pH0 11.0). On the basis of the characterization of catalyst, the results of metal leaching and EPR studies, it is suggested that phenol is mainly destroyed by the surface-adsorbed radicals and Cu(III) resulting from the reaction between PS and Cu(II) on the catalyst. Taking into account the widespread presence of bicarbonate ions in waste streams, the CuO-Fe3O4/PS system may provide some new insights for contaminant removal from wastewater.

Controlled leaching with prolonged activity for Co-LDH supported catalyst during treatment of organic dyes using bicarbonate activation of hydrogen peroxide

The effluents from industries are commonly non-biodegradable and produce various hazardous intermediate products by chemical reactions that have direct impact on environment. In the present investigation, a series of Co-Mg/AL ternary LDH catalysts with fixed Mg/Al ratio were prepared by co-precipitation method. The effect of Co on the activity of the catalyst was monitored on the degradation of methylene blue (MB) as model compound at batch level using bicarbonate activation of H2O2 (BAP) system. On bench level, the best CoMgAl-4 catalyst can completely decolorize both methylene blue (MB) and methylene orange (MO) in short time, while in fixed bed, the catalyst was found stable for over 300 h with nearly 100% decolorization and excellent chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal. No leaching of Co was detected for the entire fixed experiment which may be accounted for long life stability and good activity of the catalyst. The ternary LDH catalysts were characterized by AES, XRD, FTIR, BET, and SEM for its compositional, phase structure, optical properties, textural, and surface morphology respectively. The XRD analysis confirmed characteristic pattern of hydrotalcite like structures without impurity phases. The formation of superoxide and hydroxyl radical as ROS was proposed with CoMgAl-4 by radical's scavengers.

The facile synthesis of a magnetic OMS-2 catalyst for decomposition of organic dyes in aqueous solution with peroxymonosulfate

A magnetically recyclable nanocomposite, manganese oxide octahedral molecular sieves (OMS-2) coated Fe₃O₄ nanoparticle, was prepared by a facile solvent-free process, and used for peroxymonosulfate activation and pollutants degradation.

The role of carbonate as a catalyst of Fenton-like reactions in AOP processes: CO3˙− as the active intermediate

The reaction Co(H₂O)₆²⁺ + H₂O₂ proceeds via a transient that decomposes into Co^II(H₂O)(OOH)(OH)₂ + CO₃˙⁻. Plausible biological implications are pointed out.