FeOOH-activating resorcinol–formaldehyde resin nanospheres for the photo-Fenton degradation of organic pollutants†
Abstract
Relative to the traditional homogeneous Fenton process, the heterogeneous photo-Fenton system has superiorities in terms of the cost, pH range of application, and environmental compatibility for the degradation of organic pollutants. For the development of an effective heterogeneous photo-Fenton system, the most important part is the photocatalyst that can produce H2O2 and further activate it into free radicals (˙OH, ˙O2−). Here, composites of FeOOH and resorcinol–formaldehyde resin (RFS) were prepared by coupling an FeOOH thin layer on the surface of RFS nanospheres, and the resultant composites were investigated as photocatalysts for the construction of a heterogeneous photo-Fenton system. In the FeOOH/RFS composite-based system, H2O2 can be produced via the reduction of dissolved oxygen through RFS nanosphere photocatalysis under visible-light irradiation. Meanwhile, the Fe3+ of FeOOH can be partially reduced to Fe2+ by the photogenerated electrons of the FeOOH/RFS composites. Through the reaction of H2O2 with Fe2+, ˙OH is continuously produced to initiate the effective degradation of rhodamine B (RhB) and dimethyl phthalate (DMP). Our work presents an efficient heterogeneous photo-Fenton system to achieve the degradation of organic pollutants, which could inspire the development of a similar photo-Fenton system for environmental protection.