Hu Zichu, Zhang Wanqi, Liu Zhechen, Zhang Xiaotao, Wang Ximing
College of Material Science and Art Design, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, Hohhot, 010018, China.
College of Science, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, Hohhot, 010018, China; Inner Mongolia Key Laboratory of Sandy Shrubs Fibrosis and Energy Development and Utilization, Hohhot, 010018, China; National Forestry Grassland Engineering Technology Research Center for Efficient Development and Utilization of Sandy Shrub, Hohhot, 010018, China.
Environ Res. 2025 Jul 15;277:121564. doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2025.121564. Epub 2025 Apr 11.
Phenol is a volatile organic compound whose effective degradation using conventional methods is challenging. Rapid charge-carrier recombination and slow Cu(II)/Cu(I) conversion rate in copper-based photocatalysts hinder their activation efficiency of potassium persulfate (PMS). Herein, an S-scheme heterojunction structure comprising TiO@C and CuO was successfully constructed using an in situ calcination method, enabling the spatial separation of photogenerated charge carriers and thus enhancing the synergistic effect of PMS in the photocatalytic degradation of phenol. The resulting CuO/TiO@C nanocomposite exhibited notably higher phenol removal efficiency than CuO or TiO@C alone, removing an 88 % phenol (40 mg/L) and a 48 % total organic carbon within 25 min. The material maintained high degradation efficiency after four cycles. Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry was employed to identify intermediates generated during phenol degradation, and a potential charge-transfer mechanism was proposed based on the analysis of catalytic active species and energy band structure. Thus, this study provides new insights for enhancing PMS activation for phenol remediation.
苯酚是一种挥发性有机化合物，使用传统方法对其进行有效降解具有挑战性。铜基光催化剂中快速的电荷载流子复合以及缓慢的Cu(II)/Cu(I)转化率阻碍了它们对过硫酸钾（PMS）的活化效率。在此，通过原位煅烧法成功构建了一种由TiO@C和CuO组成的S型异质结结构，实现了光生电荷载流子的空间分离，从而增强了PMS在光催化降解苯酚中的协同作用。所得的CuO/TiO@C纳米复合材料表现出比单独的CuO或TiO@C更高的苯酚去除效率，在25分钟内去除了88%的苯酚（40mg/L）和48%的总有机碳。该材料在四个循环后仍保持高降解效率。采用液相色谱-质谱法鉴定苯酚降解过程中产生的中间体，并基于对催化活性物种和能带结构的分析提出了潜在的电荷转移机制。因此，本研究为增强PMS活化用于苯酚修复提供了新的见解。
