Issue 1, 2024

A novel route for microplastic mineralization: visible-light-driven heterogeneous photocatalysis and photothermal Fenton-like reaction

Abstract

Microplastic pollution has attracted considerable attention. Here, we develop a visible-light-driven photocatalysis and photothermal Fenton-like reaction method for their removal, utilizing an α-Fe2O3 nanoflower on TiO2 with a hierarchical structure of inverse opal-like layer/nanotube arrays (α-Fe2O3/TiO2HNTAs film). Without external H2O2 dosage, nearly 100% degradation of 310 nm polystyrene (PS) spheres is obtained after 4 h at 75 °C induced by visible-light irradiation. The light initiation and photothermal effect are essential for achieving high degradation efficiency of plastics on α-Fe2O3. A distinctive melting phenomenon of PS under mild conditions due to the synergistic effect is observed for the first time. The catalyst system also works well for PS spheres with large particle size (2.0–2.9 μm) and real PS plastic foam. We believe that this work provides a novel strategy and new insights for removing microplastics and bulk plastics.

Graphical abstract: A novel route for microplastic mineralization: visible-light-driven heterogeneous photocatalysis and photothermal Fenton-like reaction

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
14 sep. 2023
Accepted
17 nov. 2023
First published
22 nov. 2023

Environ. Sci.: Nano, 2024,11, 113-122

A novel route for microplastic mineralization: visible-light-driven heterogeneous photocatalysis and photothermal Fenton-like reaction

Z. Xue, X. Yu, X. Ke and J. Zhao, Environ. Sci.: Nano, 2024, 11, 113 DOI: 10.1039/D3EN00642E

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