Synthesis of an inorganic-framework molecularly imprinted Fe-doped TiO2 composite and its selective photo-Fenton-like degradation of acid orange II

BACKGROUND The heterogeneous photo-Fenton-like process is emerging as a promising treatment of dye-containing wastewater because of its economic feasibility and high efficiency. However, it is still required to develop photo-Fenton-like catalysts with highly selective degradation ability and reusability. RESULTS Inorganic-framework molecularly imprinted Fe-doped TiO 2 composites (MIP/Fe–TiO 2 ) were successfully prepared by the sol–gel method, with acid orange II as the template and TiO 2 as the matrix material. The photo-Fenton-like catalysts were characterized using FESEM, EDS, BET, X-ray diffraction, FT-IR spectroscopy and UV–vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. These methods revealed the well-crystallized anatase phase and good nanometer-level particle sizes. The adsorption property and photo-Fenton-like activity of the catalysts were also studied in single and binary systems, respectively. CONCLUSIONS Compared with non-imprinted Fe–TiO 2 composites (NIP/Fe–TiO 2 ), MIP/Fe–TiO 2 showed higher adsorption capacity and selectivity toward the template molecule. In addition, it was found that the molecular recognition ability of MIP/Fe–TiO 2 provided the catalysts with rapidly selective photo-Fenton-like degradation of low target pollutant levels (20 mg L −1 ) in the presence of high levels of interferential pollutant sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate (100 mg L −1 ). Moreover, because of the stable physicochemical properties of the inorganic framework, the new photo-Fenton-like catalysts were resistant to photochemical attack and showed favorable reusability. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry