https://iris.unipa.it/bitstream/10447/74239/1/Di%20Paola-J%20hzardous%20mater%202012-survey.pdf

A survey of photocatalytic materials for environmental remediation.

Influence of parameters on the heterogeneous photocatalytic degradation of pesticides and phenolic contaminants in wastewater: A short review

Photocatalysis has been attracting much research interest because of its wide applications in renewable energy and environmental remediation. There are many materials that are found to show good photocatalytic activity in the presence of ultraviolet (UV) and visible light. However, the applications of these materials are limited to the UV portion of sunlight. α-Fe 2 O 3 has an advantage over the other conventional materials like TiO 2 , ZnO, etc . in using solar energy for photocatalytic applications due to its lower band gap ∼2.2 eV value. As a result of which Fe 2 O 3 is capable of absorbing a large portion of the visible solar spectrum (absorbance edge ∼600 nm). Also its good chemical stability in aqueous medium, low cost, abundance and nontoxic nature makes it a promising material for photocatalytic water treatment and water splitting applications. Except these advantages the usage of Fe 2 O 3 has been restricted by many anomalies such as higher e–h recombination effect, low diffusion length and VB positioning (VB is positive with respect to H + /H 2 potential). This article reviews the research that has been carried out to overcome these basic limitations and to enhance the photocatalytic activity of α-Fe 2 O 3 .

α-Fe2O3 as a photocatalytic material: A review

Heterogeneous Fenton reactions have gained widespread attention in removing recalcitrant organic contaminants as the reaction between solid Fenton catalysts and H2O2 can generate highly reactive hydroxyl radicals (HO[rad]). However, several drawbacks, such as the low-speed generation of Fe(II), high consumption of H2O2, and acidic reaction conditions (generally at ˜ pH 3), are always the core issues that hamper the large-scale application of heterogeneous Fenton reactions in environmental remediation. Thus, a large number of studies have been devoted to tackling these drawbacks, and this paper intends to comprehensively review the developed strategies for enhancing heterogeneous Fenton reactivity, mainly over the last decade. Based on a comprehensive survey of previous studies, we categorize these strategies according to their reaction mechanisms. For example, introducing additional electrons (e.g., from external electric fields, electron-rich materials, semiconductors, plasmonic materials, or doped metals) to heterogeneous Fenton catalysts can accelerate the generation of Fe(II); the in situ generation of H2O2 can be achieved by combining ultrasound, electricity, semiconductors, and iron-based catalysts in the system; and controlling the specific morphologies and exposed facets of heterogeneous Fenton catalysts can greatly promote the decomposition of H2O2. In addition, we briefly introduce some recent novel heterogeneous Fenton-like reactions that are of particular interest, including constructing dual reaction centers (i.e., the electron-poor center and the electron-rich center) and synthesizing single-atom catalysis-based heterogeneous Fenton-like catalysts. Moreover, this review article analyzes and compares the merits of each strategy for enhancing heterogeneous Fenton/Fenton-like reactions. We believe this review can motivate the construction of novel and efficient heterogeneous Fenton/Fenton-like systems and help readers choose proper Fenton/Fenton-like reaction systems for industrial applications.

/pdf/strategies-for-enhancing-the-heterogeneous-fenton-catalytic-2w59a6doho.pdf

Strategies for Enhancing the Heterogeneous Fenton Catalytic Reactivity: A review

Synthesis and photocatalytic activity of ferrites under visible light: A review

ZnO, Fe 2 O 3 and ZnFe 2 O 4 were synthesized by precipitation or coprecipitation at constant pH After aging, washing and drying, the solids were calcined at 800 C The samples were characterized by XRD, TGA, N 2 physisorption, UV-Vis and TPR The photocatalytic degradation of phenol was studied in a batch reactor and TiO 2 (Degussa, P-25) was used as a reference catalyst Pure ZnO and Fe 2 O 3 were obtained at 800 C, whereas ZnFe 2 O 4 and α-Fe 2 O 3 (segregated) were detected in the zinc ferrite sample TPR experiments showed the reduction peaks in the range of 350-800 C only with Fe 2 O 3 and ZnFe 2 O 4 , attributed to Fe 3+ to Fe 2+ reduction and complete dehydroxylation The photodegradation of phenol (samples calcined at 800 C) showed small but significant variations that decreased in the order: TiO 2 > ZnFe 2 O 4 > ZnO > Fe 2 O 3  Subproducts such as hydroquinone, catechol and benzoquinone were mainly detected In particular, attention was focused on our prepared materials because after 24 h they did not dissolve as happened with TiO 2 

J. Jiménez-Becerrill

Papers

Preparation, characterization and photocatalytic activity of ZnO, Fe2O3 and ZnFe2O4