Promotion effect of PANI on Fe-PANI/Zeolite as an active and recyclable Fenton-like catalyst under near-neutral condition

• DOI: 10.1016/j.apsusc.2020.145298
• Publication Date: 2020-01-08T02:40:00Z
• Authors: Bofang Shi; Chengcheng Zhao; Yajun Ji; Jinwen Shi; Honghui Yang
• Keywords: 13. Climate action; 02 engineering and technology; 0210 nano-technology; 01 natural sciences; 7. Clean energy; 6. Clean water; 0104 chemical sciences; 12. Responsible consumption

Abstract A Fenton-like catalyst, Fe doped PANI loaded on zeolite (Fe-PANI/Zeolite) was synthesized by polymerizing aniline (PANI) and loading iron via a one-pot in-situ hydrothermal process. The XPS and UV–Vis spectra indicated that the Fe2+ and Fe3+ were doped into PANI and formed a complex via Fe-N interaction, and the TEM image showed that no Fe oxides particles were formed. The Fe-PANI/Zeolite showed significant Fenton-like catalytic activity in a wide pH range (3.0–8.0), and its catalytic activity was studied in detail at pH 6. With the optimized FeCl3-to-aniline molar ratio of 3:1, the Fe-PANI/Zeolite synthesized at 130 °C for 12 h showed the highest efficiency for Fenton-like catalytic degradation of Acid Red G (ARG). The active species of the Fe-PANI/Zeolite were Fe and PANI, and especially under near-neutral condition the PANI played the key role by promoting the reduction of Fe3+ to Fe2+, resulting in enhancing the Fenton-like reaction activity. Fe-PANI/Zeolite catalyst shows high potential in organic pollutants removal in wastewater treatment without any additional assistant measure to enhance its activity.