Water-soluble natural organic acid for highly efficient photoreduction of hexavalent chromium

• Published in: Journal of chemical sciences (Bangalore, India) India), 2020-12, Vol.132 (1), Article 113
• Main Authors: He, Hongbo, Luo, Zhuangzhu, Yu, Changlin
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Acids; Chemistry; Chemistry and Materials Science; Chemistry/Food Science; Citric acid; Heavy metals; Hexavalent chromium; Photocatalysis; Photocatalysts; Regular Article; Wastewater treatment; Water chemistry
• ISSN: 0974-3626; 0973-7103
• DOI: 10.1007/s12039-020-01810-4

Successful studies have demonstrated that citric acid can significantly improve the photocatalytic reduction efficiency of Cr(VI) over semiconductor photocatalysts as a sacrificial donor. Here, we studied the Cr(VI) photoreduction performance of citric acid monohydrate (CAM) without any semiconductor photocatalysts. Water-soluble CAM displays extremely efficient photoreduction activity for Cr(VI), which is attributed to the synergism of H + , C 5 H 7 O 5 COO − and hv . Hence, the role of citric acid in photoreduction of Cr(VI) may be underestimated in the previous studies. This work may open a new perspective for the development of low-cost, high-efficient and green water-soluble materials applied in heavy metal ion wastewater treatment. Graphic abstract Here, the water-soluble citric acid monohydrate (CAM) for application in photoreduction of Cr(VI) is reported. The results suggest that Cr(VI) photoreduction over CAM attributes to the synergism of H + , C 5 H 7 O 5 COO − and hv . Moreover, CAM is a promising Cr (VI) photoreductant instead of a humble sacrificial donor.