Degradation of TCH by Fe3O4/B4C catalyzed heterogeneous Fenton oxidation

In this work, Fe 3 O 4 /B 4 C (FeB) composites were successfully prepared by a facile co-precipitation process. FeB composites were characterized using XRD , FTIR, N 2 adsorption-desorption, XPS, etc techniques and then used as heterogeneous Fenton catalysts to activate green oxidant (H 2 O 2 ) for the degradation of TCH. The removal efficiency of TCH by FeB composites was explored including different parameters of Fe 3 O 4 loading on B 4 C, catalyst dosage, initial solution pH, H 2 O 2 dosage, and reaction temperature. The highest photo-Fenton catalytic efficiency was obtained for the composites with a mass ratio of Fe 3 O 4 to B 4 C of 1:0.75. At this time, the removal efficiency of Fe 3 O 4 /B 4 C was 2 times and 391 times that of the parent Fe 3 O 4 and B 4 C, respectively, and B 4 C can effectively improve the efficiency of the Fenton cycle. h + , e - , and ·OH were mainly responsible for the degradation of TCH by Fe 1 B 0.75 composites. After repeated use for five times, the removal efficiency of the catalyst was reduced by only 8.0%. The disparity in work functions by density functional theory calculations confirmed the formation of an internal electric field at the Fe 3 O 4 /B 4 C composites interface, which contributed the transfer of charge carriers between the Fe 3 O 4 and B 4 C. Moreover, the FeB composite showed a high stability, indicating that FeB composites may be a promising heterogeneous catalyst .