Silica nanoparticles and kaolin clay decorated with VO2+ in aerobic oxidative destruction of BTEX contaminants

Abstract

The importance of controlled hydrocarbon oxidation has sparked interest in methods that catalyze this process. In this vein, controlled oxidative degradation of BTEX compounds (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylenes) which are hazardous air and industrial waste water contaminants is very considerable. Accordingly, the reactive VO²⁺ species was anchored onto silica nanoparticles (VO–SNP) to catalyze the conversion of BTEX into useful compounds. The synthesized heterogeneous VO–SNP catalyst was characterized using different techniques such as FTIR, FETEM, FESEM, XRD, EDX, ICP and XPS. Interestingly, the catalyst performed the activation of the relatively inert C–H bonds of BTEX to produce oxygenated compounds under quite mild and eco-friendly conditions at room temperature with no extra additives. Furthermore, we introduced VO²⁺ species onto mineral kaolin sheets (VO–kaolin) as a vanadyl decorated natural solid support and the results showed less efficiency compared to VO–SNP.