Striking influence of Fe2O3 on the “catalytic carbonization” of chlorinated poly(vinyl chloride) into carbon microspheres with high performance in the photo-degradation of Congo red†
Abstract
A one-pot approach was demonstrated to effectively synthesize carbon microspheres through “catalytic carbonization” of commercial chlorinated poly(vinyl chloride) (CPVC) microspheres by Fe2O3 at 700 °C. Without Fe2O3, a “sponge-like” carbon lump was obtained. However, after adding Fe2O3 (even 0.5 g per 100 g CPVC) into CPVC, carbon microspheres with octahedral Fe3O4 microcrystals uniformly embedded on the surface (Fe/CMS) were synthesized. The influence of Fe2O3 on the carbonization of CPVC microspheres was investigated. It was found that Fe2O3 significantly accelerated the dehydrochlorination of CPVC into