Enhanced photocatalytic performance of iron oxides@HTCC fabricated from zinc extraction tailings for methylene blue degradation: Investigation of the photocatalytic mechanism

Yang Xue; Xiaoming Liu; Na Zhang; Yang Shao; Chunbao (Charles) Xu

doi:10.1007/s12613-023-2723-5

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Yang Xue, Xiaoming Liu, Na Zhang, Yang Shao, and Chunbao (Charles) Xu, Enhanced photocatalytic performance of iron oxides@HTCC fabricated from zinc extraction tailings for methylene blue degradation: Investigation of the photocatalytic mechanism, Int. J. Miner. Metall. Mater.,(2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12613-023-2723-5

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Yang Xue, Xiaoming Liu, Na Zhang, Yang Shao, and Chunbao (Charles) Xu, Enhanced photocatalytic performance of iron oxides@HTCC fabricated from zinc extraction tailings for methylene blue degradation: Investigation of the photocatalytic mechanism, Int. J. Miner. Metall. Mater.,(2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12613-023-2723-5

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Research Article

Enhanced photocatalytic performance of iron oxides@HTCC fabricated from zinc extraction tailings for methylene blue degradation: Investigation of the photocatalytic mechanism

+ Author Affiliations

Xiaoming Liu is a youth editorial board member for IJMMM and is not involved in the editorial review or the decision to publish this article. All authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper..
The online version contains supplementary material available at https://doi.org/10.1007/s12613-023-2723-5

Corresponding authors:
Xiaoming Liu    E-mail: liuxm@ustb.edu.cn

Na Zhang    E-mail: nazhang@cugb.edu.cn

Chunbao (Charles) Xu    E-mail: cxu6@uwo.ca
Received: 26 March 2023; Revised: 7 August 2023; Accepted: 9 August 2023; Available online: 10 August 2023

Abstract

Abstract

Photocatalytic processes are efficient methods to solve water contamination problems, especially considering dyeing wastewater disposal. However, high-efficiency photocatalysts are usually very expensive and have the risk of heavy metal pollution. Recently, an iron oxides@hydrothermal carbonation carbon (HTCC) heterogeneous catalyst was prepared by our group through co-hydrothermal treatment of carbohydrates and zinc extraction tailings of converter dust. Herein, the catalytic performance of the iron oxides@HTCC was verified by a non-biodegradable dye, methylene blue (MB), and the catalytic mechanism was deduced from theoretical simulations and spectroscopic measurements. The iron oxides@HTCC showed an excellent synergy between photocatalysis and Fenton-like reactions. Under visible-light illumination, the iron oxides@HTCC could be excited to generate electrons and holes, reacting with H₂O₂ to produce $\cdot\mathrm{O}\mathrm{H}$ radicals to oxidize and decompose organic pollutants. The removal efficiency of methylene blue over iron oxides@HTCC at 140 min was 2.86 times that of HTCC. The enhanced catalytic performance was attributed to the advantages of iron oxides modification: (1) promoting the excitation induced by photons; (2) improving the charge transfer. Furthermore, the iron oxides@HTCC showed high catalytic activity in a wide pH value range of 2.3–10.4, and the MB removal efficiency remained higher than 95% after the iron oxides@HTCC was recycled 4 times. The magnetically recyclable iron oxides@HTCC may provide a solution for the treatment of wastewater from the textile industry.
- photocatalysis;
- photo-Fenton reaction;
- methylene blue degradation;
- tailings utilization

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References(46)

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