Synthesis of Mo2C@CeO2@Fe3O4 particles for enhancing three-dimensional heterogeneous electro-Fenton degradation of MIT and HEDP

Abstract

Mo₂C@Fe₃O₄ and three kinds of MO₂-doped Mo₂C@Fe₃O₄ were successfully fabricated as novel particles for the degradation of MIT and HEDP in a 3D electro-Fenton (EF) system. The combination of Mo₂C and Fe₃O₄ as heterogeneous catalyst particles showed an enhancement for the catalytic activity in the system. Furthermore, the Mo₂C@CeO₂@Fe₃O₄ particles exhibited superior activity for MIT and HEDP degradation compared to the other two particles. The MIT, COD (MIT), HEDP and COD (HEDP) degradation rates using Mo₂C@CeO₂@Fe₃O₄ particles were 97.2%, 70.6%, 73.6% and 44.7%, respectively. Based on the characterization of the synthesized particles, leaching concentration of Fe²⁺, generation of H₂O₂ and free radical, the reasons for the difference in degradation performance among the three type particles and the excellent performance of Mo₂C@CeO₂@Fe₃O₄ were comprehensively analyzed. At last, some important experimental parameters, such as particles dosage, current density and aeration intensity, which would obviously affect MIT and HEDP degradation performance were studied.