Abstract
The combination of zerovalent iron (Fe0) and titanium dioxide (TiO2) has been investigated as a promising method for environmental remediation. However, it is a challenge to prepare conveniently desirable Fe0/TiO2 nanocomposites with excellent efficiency and reusability. Here, a novel nanocomposite material, Fe0/TiO2@D201, was synthesized to enhance the removal of Cr(VI) from an aqueous system by impregnating Fe0 and TiO2 inside a commercial anion exchanger (D201). The proposed structure and Cr(VI) removal mechanism of Fe0/TiO2@D201 were confirmed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis. Compared to the monometallic samples (Fe0-D201 and TiO2-D201), Fe0/TiO2@D201 showed outstanding Cr(VI) removal and the removal ratio reached up to 97.30% after 120 min of UV light irradiation. The removal of Cr(VI) by Fe0/TiO2@D201 remained high (91.70%) even after four cycles, indicating the stability of the nanocomposites toward Cr(VI) removal and their strong potential for practical applications. The addition of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) positively affected the Cr(VI) reduction process, whereas the addition of Na2S2O8 negatively affected the Cr(VI) process. The XPS results revealed that the photocatalytic reduction of Cr(VI) by Fe0/TiO2@D201 involved the capture of photoexcited electrons and Fe0 reduction. A path for the photogenerated electrons engaging in the reduction reaction to improve the utilization of Fe0 was proposed. These results demonstrate that Fe0/TiO2@D201 is a promising alternative composite catalyst for the efficient Cr(VI) removal from contaminated water.
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Funding
We greatly acknowledge the support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 21707166), State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse Foundation, (No. PCRRF22012), Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Environment Monitoring and Pollution Control Foundation (No. KHK1905), and the National Innovation and Entrepreneurship Training Program for Undergraduate (No. 2023103161359).
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All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection, and analysis were performed by Ting Jiang, Jian Chai, and Yingying Wang. Conceptualization, ideas, formal analysis, resources, supervision, and funding acquisition by Qiong Du, **g Shi, and Zhengwen Xu. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Ting Jiang and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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Jiang, T., Chai, J., Wang, Y. et al. Enhanced photocatalytic reduction of Cr(VI) from aqueous solution using Fe0/TiO2-based polymeric nanocomposites. Environ Sci Pollut Res 30, 110312–110323 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-30106-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-30106-6