Research on the Sustainable Heterogeneous Catalyst Development for Photocatalytic Treatment of Phenol

Abstract

A large amount of wastewater from various and discharged sources that are not treated in any way could affect properties of both land and water, causing severe problems for the environment. Advanced oxidation processes seem to be a feasible option to address effluent treatment with regard to salvation of the environment. In this work, a CdO/ZnO/Yb2O3 composite composed of trimetallic semiconductors was synthesized through a simple one-pot hydrophile approach at low temperatures and then was employed as a photocatalyst. The degradation of phenol, a common organic persistent pollutant in industrial wastewater, was efficiently catalyzed in the presence of simulated sunlight. It was demonstrated that the synthesized CdO/ZnO/Yb2O3 photocatalyst was significantly active after 15 min of reaction and facilitated the effective degradation of the phenol. The CdO/ZnO/Yb2O3 photocatalyst achieved 71.5% and 97.81% degradation of the phenol without and with the existence of H2O2, correspondingly. The results show that the synthesized composite possesses high oxygen reduction capability and is available for rapid and potent photodegradation of the organic persistent pollutants such as phenol, with minimal damage to the environment.