Surface facet Fe2O3-based visible light photocatalytic activation of persulfate for the removal of RR120 dye: nonlinear modeling and optimization

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Khan, Saad U. ; Khan, Hammad ; Hussain, Sajjad ; Torquato, Lilian D. M. ; Khan, Sabir ; Miranda, Raul G. ; Oliveira, Danielle P. ; Dorta, Daniel J. ; Lima Perini, Joao A. ; Choi, Hyeok ; Boldrin Zanoni, Maria, V

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: Environmental Science and Pollution Research; v. N/A, p. 14-pg., 2022-03-05.

Abstract

Photocatalytic activation of persulfate (PS) is recently emerged as an energy-efficient and environmentally sustainable approach for pollutants degradation, which enables to leverage the strengths of low-cost solar energy and heterogeneous catalysis. Herein, we investigated the photocatalytic decomposition of reactive red 120 (RR120) dye using PS-activated Fe2O3 nanoparticles and elucidated the effect of their facets, alpha-Fe2O3 (001), beta-Fe2O3 (100), and gamma-Fe2O3 (111). beta-Fe2O3 not only boosted the charge carrier separation but also provided more active sites for PS activation resulting in 6- and 3.5-fold higher photocatalytic activities compared to alpha-Fe2O3 and gamma-Fe2O3, respectively. Response surface methodology and artificial neural network coupled with genetic algorithm models were utilized to optimize and foresee Fe2O3/PS system under visible light. Almost 100% color removal and 82% organic removal were observed under the optimum conditions at 20 mg/L RR120, 22 mg/L beta-Fe2O3, 18 mg/L PS, and pH: 3. Scavenger test indicated that both sulfate and hydroxyl radicals are responsible for the observed RR120 removal. Although cell viability test indicated that cytotoxicity of wastewater is not significantly reduced after treatment. All the results proposed that beta-Fe2O3/PS at relatively low doses has a great potential to decompose and mineralize recalcitrant dyes in wastewater under invisible light. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 16/18057-7 - CO2 reduction aiming to generate value-added compounds by photocatalysis/photoelectrocatalysis using ionic liquid in a pressurized reactor
• Grantee: João Angelo de Lima Perini
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• FAPESP's process: 19/00463-7 - Integrated and solar-driven bioelectrochemical systems for electricity and H2 production from co-digestion of crude glycerol and wastewater from citrus processing industry
• Grantee: Lilian Danielle de Moura Torquato
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• FAPESP's process: 14/50945-4 - INCT 2014: National Institute for Alternative Technologies of Detection, Toxicological Evaluation and Removal of Micropollutants and Radioactivies
• Grantee: Maria Valnice Boldrin
• Support Opportunities: Research Projects - Thematic Grants