Efficient Catalytic Degradation of Phenol with Phthalocyanine-Immobilized Reduced Graphene–Bacterial Cellulose Nanocomposite

Abstract

In this report, phthalocyanine (Pc)/reduced graphene (rG)/bacterial cellulose (BC) ternary nanocomposite, Pc-rGBC, was developed through the immobilization of Pc onto a reduced graphene–bacterial cellulose (rGBC) nanohybrid after the reduction of biosynthesized graphene oxide-bacterial cellulose (GOBC) with N2H4. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) were employed to monitor all of the functionalization processes. The Pc-rGBC nanocomposite was applied for the treatment of phenol wastewater. Thanks to the synergistic effect of BC and rG, Pc-rGBC had good adsorption capacity to phenol molecules, and the equilibrium adsorption data fitted well with the Freundlich model. When H2O2 was presented as an oxidant, phenol could rapidly be catalytically decomposed by the Pc-rGBC nanocomposite; the phenol degradation ratio was more than 90% within 90 min of catalytic oxidation, and the recycling experiment showed that the Pc-rGBC nanocomposite had excellent recycling performance in the consecutive treatment of phenol wastewater. The HPLC result showed that several organic acids, such as oxalic acid, maleic acid, fumaric acid, glutaric acid, and adipic acid, were formed during the reaction. The chemical oxygen demand (COD) result indicated that the formed organic acids could be further mineralized to CO2 and H2O, and the mineralization ratio was more than 80% when the catalytic reaction time was prolonged to 4 h. This work is of vital importance, in terms of both academic research and industrial practice, to the design of Pc-based functional materials and their application in environmental purification.