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Enhanced activation of peroxymonosulfate by CNT-TiO2 under UV-light assistance for efficient degradation of organic pollutants

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Abstract

In this work, a UV-light assisted peroxymonosulfate (PMS) activation system was constructed with the composite catalyst of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (CNT) — titanium dioxide (TiO2). Under the UV light irradiation, the photoinduced electrons generated from TiO2 could be continuously transferred to CNT for the activation of PMS to improve the catalytic performance of organic pollutant degradation. Meanwhile, the separation of photoinduced electron-hole pairs could enhance the photocatalysis efficiency. The electron spin resonance spectroscopy (EPR) and quenching experiments confirmed the generation of sulfate radical (SO4•−), hydroxyl radical (•OH) and singlet oxygen (1O2) in the UV/PMS/20%CNT-TiO2 system. Almost 100% phenol degradation was observed within 20 min UV-light irradiation. The kinetic reaction rate constant of the UV/PMS/20%CNT-TiO2 system (0.18 min−1) was 23.7 times higher than that of the PMS/Co3O4 system (0.0076 min−1). This higher catalytic performance was ascribed to the introduction of photoinduced electrons, which could enhance the activation of PMS by the transfer of electrons in the UV/PMS/CNT-TiO2 system.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 21590813), Department of Science and Technology of Dalian (No. 2018J11CY012), the Program of Introducing Talents of Discipline to Universities (No. B13012), and program for Changjiang Scholars and Innovative Research Team in University (No. IRT_13R05).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Industrial Ecology and Environmental Engineering (Ministry of Education), School of Environmental Science and Technology, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, 116024, China

    Xuemin Hao, Shuo Chen, Hongtao Yu & Xie Quan

  2. School of Light Industry and Chemical Engineering, Dalian Polytechnic University, Dalian, 116034, China

    Guanlong Wang

Authors
  1. Xuemin Hao
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  2. Guanlong Wang
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  3. Shuo Chen
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  4. Hongtao Yu
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  5. Xie Quan
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Shuo Chen.

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Highlights

• CNT-TiO2 composite is used to activate PMS under UV-light assistance.

• Superior performance is due to the enhanced electron-transfer ability of CNT.

• SO4•−, •OH and 1O2 play key roles in the degradation of organic pollutants.

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Hao, X., Wang, G., Chen, S. et al. Enhanced activation of peroxymonosulfate by CNT-TiO2 under UV-light assistance for efficient degradation of organic pollutants. Front. Environ. Sci. Eng. 13, 77 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11783-019-1161-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11783-019-1161-0

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