Issue 9, 2024

Self-cycled photocatalytic Fenton system and rapid degradation of organic pollutants over magnetic 3D MnS nanosheet/iron–nickel foam

Abstract

Photocatalytic self-Fenton systems by coupling photocatalysis and Fenton technology overcome the limitations of conventional Fenton reactions by in situ generation and activation of H2O2. However, a considerable amount of iron sludge is still produced. In this study, we developed a novel self-cycled photocatalytic Fenton process for the degradation of organic pollutants via an iron–nickel foam-supported MnS nanosheet (MnS/INF). Without the external addition of both H2O2 and ferrous ions, the MnS/INF 3D Z-scheme heterojunction exhibited an extremely high H2O2 production rate of 25.4 mM h−1 g−1 under visible light irradiation, which is 2–119 times higher than those of the reported photocatalytic self-Fenton systems in the literature. The photogenerated electrons of MnS/INF can participate in the Fe2+/Fe3+ cycle process to promote H2O2 activation, significantly enhancing the catalytic performance owing to the formation of a 3D Z-scheme heterojunction. DFT calculations indicate that MnS/INF can lower the energy barrier of *OOH formation and result in an enhanced photocatalytic activity of H2O2 production. Magnetic MnS/INF was easily recycled, remained very stable, and mitigated the extra undesirable Fe-containing sludge and only little iron sludge (0.43 mmol L−1) was produced after nine cycles of reuse. Furthermore, large (100 cm2) MnS/INF was used for an unassisted solar-driven in situ photocatalytic H2O2 production and rapid degradation of RhB with requirements of only water, oxygen and sunlight. In addition, MnS/INF also exhibited good performance in real wastewater containing fluoronitrobenzene from a factory (initial COD 2310 mg L−1) and wastewater from a sewage treatment station (initial COD 106 mg L−1). This work may provide leverage to minimize iron sludge from the Fenton reaction's source.

Graphical abstract: Self-cycled photocatalytic Fenton system and rapid degradation of organic pollutants over magnetic 3D MnS nanosheet/iron–nickel foam

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Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
21 May 2024
Accepted
09 Jul 2024
First published
11 Jul 2024

Environ. Sci.: Nano, 2024,11, 3802-3815

Self-cycled photocatalytic Fenton system and rapid degradation of organic pollutants over magnetic 3D MnS nanosheet/iron–nickel foam

X. Ma, Y. Liu, Y. Zhao, X. Chen, J. Leng, A. Zhang, D. Chen, K. Xiong and J. Wang, Environ. Sci.: Nano, 2024, 11, 3802 DOI: 10.1039/D4EN00452C

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