Using magnetic nano Fen+@GO as an efficient heterogeneous Fenton catalyst for the removal of tetracycline

• Published in: Desalination and water treatment 2019-06, Vol.153, p.357-366
• Main Authors: Yang, Yuanxiu, Yao, Chuang, Rao, Junyuan, Tang, Yuansheng, Liu, Hui, Hu, Xinjiang, Liu, Jianxin, Huang, Xian, Wang, Hui, Li, Huankai
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Fen; Graphene oxide; Heterogeneous Fenton oxidation; Tetracycline
• ISSN: 1944-3986; 1944-3986
• DOI: 10.5004/dwt.2019.23946

The catalytic activity of metal nanoparticles (MNPs) relies on the property of the support. The recent availability of suspensions of graphene oxide(GO) and other graphene-based materials has provided new opportunities for the development of supported MNPs as catalysts. Herein, this work aims to develop a novel MNPs-GO catalyst possessing large surface area, strong metal–support interaction and more active sites. A magnetic nano Fen+@GO nanocomposite (MFGO) with MNPs (i.e., Fen+, iron oxide) and graphene oxide was synthesized through a facile in situ co-precipitation method. The MFGO composites were utilized as effective heterogeneous Fenton catalysts for the degradation of tetracycline (TC) over a wide pH range. The removal efficiencies for the system of H2O2, MFGO and H2O2 with MFGO after 120 min reached 19.17%, 25.38%, and 94.82%, respectively. The optimum removal efficiency achieved 94.80% in the condition of 500 mg/L TC, pH = 7.0, 0.469 mol/L H2O2 and 0.5 g/L catalyst dose. Besides, the catalysts could be used for at least six times. The magnetic nanoparticles had been strongly immobilized on the surface of GO through stable chemical bonding. The introduction of GO contributed to increasing the adsorption capacity and enhancing the Fenton catalytic activity. The catalysts could be magnetically recycled with good stability. This study provided new insights into the precipitation of a magnetic heterogeneous catalyst and advanced its application.