Abstract:
The powdered LaFeO
3 material had shortcomings such as easy agglomeration and difficult separation, so it was limited in large-scale applications. The deposition of powdered catalysts in polystyrene resin (PS) made up for the above shortcomings of powdered materials. Therefore, in this study, the self-assembled LaFeO
3 gel was deposited on the PS through ultrasound-assisted sol-gel and hydrothermal methods. The dispersion and distribution of LaFeO
3 on PS broadens the forbidden band width of LaFeO
3, improves its redox ability, solves the problem of agglomeration, and consequently improves its photo-Fenton catalytic activity. The LaFeO
3/PS composite prepared under the following experimental conditions shows the highest photocatalytic activity: La∶Fe∶Citric acid(CA) molar ratio=1∶1∶2, ultrasonic time 40 min, hydrothermal temperature 90℃, hydrothermal time 18 h, LaFeO
3 initiator/polystyrene mass ratio=32∶1. The removal rate of tetracycline hydrochloride (TC) is up to 96.51%(rate of degradation
k=0.0160 min
−1) under visible light irradiation in the Fenton process catalyzed by LaFeO
3/PS. Free radical capture experiments show that •O
2− is the main active species. According to the capture experiment, the degradation mechanism of TC was proposed. Through LC/MS analysis, the degradation path of TC was obtained. The photo-Fenton process catalyzed by LaFeO
3/PS is a promising technology for the degradation of organic pollutants due to the high stability of the catalyst and the efficient use of solar energy.