TY - JOUR
T1 - Sequential impregnation and sol-gel synthesis of Fe-ZnO over hydrophobic silica aerogel as a floating photocatalyst with highly enhanced photodecomposition of BTX compounds from water
AU - Najafidoust, Ahmad
AU - Abbasi Asl, Ebrahim
AU - Kazemi Hakki, Hamid
AU - Sarani, Mina
AU - Bananifard, Hamed
AU - Sillanpaa, Mika
AU - Etemadi, Mehdi
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 International Solar Energy Society
PY - 2021/9/1
Y1 - 2021/9/1
N2 - Benzene, Toluene, and Xylene (BTX) are included in the floating contaminants which originated from the explosion of oil wells. Photocatalytic oxidation of the some oil spill components like Benzene, Toluene, and Xylene can be a proper way to solve this challenge due to its economic saving, usage of free energy, and environmentally friendly. For this purpose, we have synthesized a hydrophobic catalyst of Fe-ZnO nanoparticles inoculated with silica aerogel (SA). Various percentage of hydrophobic silica aerogel (10, 20 and 30%) was added, as support of catalyst, to Fe-ZnO nanoparticles using impregnation method. The impregnation of silica aerogel to Fe-ZnO nanoparticles caused the photocatalytic performance of nanocatalyst was improved through its increased surface area, and also floated active phase (Fe-ZnO) on water. In order to investigate the impact of the synthetic method of nanocomposite on the activity of synthesized nanophotocatalyst, optimum samples (Fe-ZnO over 20% SiO2) were synthesized using the sol-gel method. The synthesized nanophotocatalysts were characterized using PXRD, FESEM, EDX, UV–Vis, Contact Angle, FT-IR, and BET-BJH analyses. Photocatalytic activity of synthesized nanophotocatalyst was evaluated in the degradation of the BTX after 120 min, under visible light irradiation. In addition, the influence of various parameters including the addition of hydrophobic silica aerogel, pH, catalyst loading, benzene concentration, and reusability was studied on the photodegradation efficiency of Fe-ZnO/SA (20%). The most photocatalytic activity was observed in the optimum condition involving pH = 5, catalyst loading = 1 g/L, and benzene concentration = 5% V/V.
AB - Benzene, Toluene, and Xylene (BTX) are included in the floating contaminants which originated from the explosion of oil wells. Photocatalytic oxidation of the some oil spill components like Benzene, Toluene, and Xylene can be a proper way to solve this challenge due to its economic saving, usage of free energy, and environmentally friendly. For this purpose, we have synthesized a hydrophobic catalyst of Fe-ZnO nanoparticles inoculated with silica aerogel (SA). Various percentage of hydrophobic silica aerogel (10, 20 and 30%) was added, as support of catalyst, to Fe-ZnO nanoparticles using impregnation method. The impregnation of silica aerogel to Fe-ZnO nanoparticles caused the photocatalytic performance of nanocatalyst was improved through its increased surface area, and also floated active phase (Fe-ZnO) on water. In order to investigate the impact of the synthetic method of nanocomposite on the activity of synthesized nanophotocatalyst, optimum samples (Fe-ZnO over 20% SiO2) were synthesized using the sol-gel method. The synthesized nanophotocatalysts were characterized using PXRD, FESEM, EDX, UV–Vis, Contact Angle, FT-IR, and BET-BJH analyses. Photocatalytic activity of synthesized nanophotocatalyst was evaluated in the degradation of the BTX after 120 min, under visible light irradiation. In addition, the influence of various parameters including the addition of hydrophobic silica aerogel, pH, catalyst loading, benzene concentration, and reusability was studied on the photodegradation efficiency of Fe-ZnO/SA (20%). The most photocatalytic activity was observed in the optimum condition involving pH = 5, catalyst loading = 1 g/L, and benzene concentration = 5% V/V.
KW - BTX removal
KW - Fe-doped ZnO
KW - Floating Photocatalysts
KW - Hydrophobic SiO Aerogel
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85111248842&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.solener.2021.07.035
DO - 10.1016/j.solener.2021.07.035
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85111248842
SN - 0038-092X
VL - 225
SP - 344
EP - 356
JO - Solar Energy
JF - Solar Energy
ER -