Photodegradation of 4-chlorophenol using ZnO/SnO2/carbon xerogel composite as catalyst

• Grant number: 19/03641-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: May 01, 2019
• End date: July 15, 2020
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Materials and Metallurgical Engineering - Nonmetallic Materials
• Principal Investigator: Liana Alvares Rodrigues
• Grantee: Clarice Moreira Goes
• Host Institution: Escola de Engenharia de Lorena (EEL). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Lorena , SP, Brazil
• Associated scholarship(s): 19/25257-0 - Polysaccharide beads as catalyst support material, BE.EP.IC

Abstract

The main objective of this project is to explore the development of new hybrid photocatalysts by utilizing a ternary material (which is formed by two semiconductors and a carbonaceous matrix made of carbon xerogel), with the aim to increase the quantum efficiency of the photodegradation process. The study will be focused at the degradation of persistent organic pollutants (POPs), with the utilization of 4-chlorophenol as reference for the degradation tests. The photocatalysis applied to the degradation of POPs has been oftenly studied due to its capacity of degradation from toxic to nontoxic compounds. ZnO and SnO2 were the chosen semiconductors, what configurates an important technological innovation, due to the fact that this combination and the catalytic effect provided by it has never been studied on the literature. The ZnO was chosen due to properties such as the ability of absorption at a large range of the solar spectrum, the efficient generation of H2O2 and because it has a more reactive surface, with a large number of reaction sites. However, this compound presents some disadvantages, being its photocorrosion and low absorption under visible light, what results in a faster recombination and, consequently, a decrease in the efficiency of the photocatalysis. Thereby, a good way to deal with this problem is to use the coupling between two conductors by means of type II heterojunctions or the Z-scheme, which are able to promote the transference of photogenerated charges from a semiconductor to another and, consequently, are responsible for the improvement of the efficiency in their separation, what results in the increase of photocatalytic efficiency. The SnO2 was chosen because, in this form of heterojunction, it is necessary for the conduction and the valence bands to be different. On the other hand, the heterojunction alone cannot achieve the desired degradation rate on the visible region, so, carbon xerogel (that came from tanino) will be added to the semiconductors, due to the fact that this is the most environmental friendly option and the cheaper choice. The carbon xerogel has great electrical conductivity, large surface area and porosity, which can be easily manipulated. Diffuse reflectance spectroscopy will be used for the purpose of determining the gap energy and the quantity of pollutant adsorbed by the samples. The morphology, the elemental analysis and the crystalline structure of the materials will be obtained by using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectrometry (EDS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD), respectively. In conclusion, the photocatalytic action of the material will be evaluated by the 4-chlorophenol decomposition in a batch reactor.

Scientific publications

(5)

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

DE MORAES, NICOLAS PERCIANI; GOES, CLARICE MOREIRA; ROCHA, ROBSON DA SILVA; VICENTE GOUVEA, MAIRA ELIZABETH; DE SIERVO, ABNER; CAETANO PINTO DA SILVA, MARIA LUCIA; RODRIGUES, LIANA ALVARES. Tannin-based carbon xerogel as a promising co-catalyst for photodegradation processes based on solar light: a case study using the tin (IV) oxide/carbon xerogel composite. Chemical Engineering Communications, SEP 2021. (07/54829-5, 18/16360-0, 07/08244-5, 19/03641-3)

DE MORAES, NICOLAS PERCIANI; GOES, CLARICE MOREIRA; SPERANDIO, DANIEL COUTO; ROCHA, ROBSON DA SILVA; LANDERS, RICHARD; PARAMASIVAM, THANGADURAI; RODRIGUES, LIANA ALVARES. Development of a new zinc oxide/tin oxide/carbon xerogel photocatalyst for visible light photodegradation of 4-chlorophenol. MATERIALS SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING B-ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL SOLID-STATE MATERIALS, v. 269, JUL 2021. (18/16360-0, 18/10492-1, 17/10118-0, 19/03641-3, 13/02762-5, 18/12035-7)

NICOLAS PERCIANI DE MORAES; LETICIA ARAÚJO BACETTO; CLARICE MOREIRA GOES; GUSTAVO VIÉGAS JUCÁ DANTAS; MARIA LUCIA CAETANO PINTO DA SILVA; LIANA ALVARES RODRIGUES. Desenvolvimento de compósitos ZnC2O4/xerogel de carbono para degradação fotocatalítica de azul de metileno sob radiação solar. MATERIA-RIO DE JANEIRO, v. 26, n. 2, 2021-05-24. (18/10492-1, 19/03641-3, 18/16360-0)

DOS SANTOS, GABRIELA SPIRANDELLI; GOES, CLARICE MOREIRA; MARTINS DE SOUSA, JULIANA GIANCOLI; DE MORAES, NICOLAS PERCIANI; CHAGURI, LIVIA; RODRIGUES, LIANA ALVARES. Evaluation of ZnO/Carbon Xerogel Composite as a Photocatalyst for Solar and Visible Light Degradation of the Rhodamine B Dye. Journal of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, v. 21, n. 4, p. 2292-2301, APR 2021. (17/03428-2, 18/16360-0, 19/03641-3, 16/20920-5, 18/10492-1)

JULIANA GIANCOLI MARTINS DE SOUSA; NICOLAS PERCIANI DE MORAES; CLARICE MOREIRA GOES; GUSTAVO VIÉGAS JUCÁ DANTAS; MARIA LUCIA CAETANO PINTO DA SILVA; LIANA ALVARES RODRIGUES. Avaliação das propriedades estruturais e fotocatalíticas de compósitos g-C3N4/ZnO/xerogel de carbono sintetizados com diferentes tipos de tanino. MATERIA-RIO DE JANEIRO, v. 27, n. 1, 2022-05-06. (18/10492-1, 19/03641-3, 18/16360-0)