Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Performance and Mechanism of Cu-Ce/γ-Al2O3 as a Heterogeneous Fenton-Like Catalyst for Phenol Degradation

  • Published:
Water, Air, & Soil Pollution Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The catalyst of Cu-Ce/γ-Al2O3 was prepared by the sol–gel method, and its catalytic degradation ability of phenol in a heterogeneous Fenton-like system was studied. Results show that the catalyst exhibited excellent catalytic degradation performance for phenol at a calcination time of 6 h, calcination temperature of 600 °C, and a Cu/Ce molar ratio of 2:1. Under conditions of catalyst dosage of 1.2 g/L, H2O2 concentration of 45 mmol/L, and pH of 6, the phenol removal rate reached 98%. Subsequently, the catalyst of Cu-Ce/γ-Al2O3 was characterized by X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Results showed that Cu and Ce were successfully loaded onto the surface of alumina, and the catalyst has a honeycomb structure on the surface. Our data suggest that •OH is likely the main active species, and the interaction between Ce and Cu increases the content of •OH in the solution, thereby promoting Fenton-like reactions. Our study hints at the potential for the application of Cu and Ce as active components, providing new insights for the design of Fenton-like catalysts. Furthermore, this study highlights the potential of Cu-Ce/γ-Al2O3 for Fenton-like degradation of phenol wastewater.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8

Similar content being viewed by others

Data Availability

All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this published article.

References

  • Aneggi, E., Cabbai, V., Trovarelli, A., & Goi, D. (2012). Potential of ceria-based catalysts for the oxidation of landfill leachate by heterogeneous Fenton process. International Journal of Photoenergy, 2012, 694721.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bokare, A. D., & Choi, W. (2014). Review of iron-free Fenton-like systems for activating H2O2 in advanced oxidation processes. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 275, 121–135.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Cai, C., Zhang, Z., Liu, J., Shan, N., Zhang, H., & Dionysiou, D. D. (2016). Visible light-assisted heterogeneous Fenton with ZnFe2O4 for the degradation of Orange II in water. Applied Catalysis B: Environmental, 182, 456–468.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Campbell, C. T., & Peden, C. H. F. (2005). Oxygen vacancies and catalysis on ceria surfaces. Science, 309, 713–714.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Dai, C., Zhang, A., Luo, L., Zhang, X., Liu, M., Wang, J., Guo, X., & Song, C. (2017). Hollow zeolite-encapsulated Fe-Cu bimetallic catalysts for phenol degradation. Catalysis Today, 297, 335–343.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Du, Z., Zhou, C., Zhang, W., Song, Y., Liu, B., Wu, H., Zhang, Z., & Yang, H. (2023). The resin-supported iron-copper bimetallic composite as highly active heterogeneous Fenton-like catalysts for degradation of gaseous toluene. Environmental Science and Pollution Research.

  • Guo, C., Qin, X., Guo, R., Lv, Y., Li, M., Wang, Z., & Li, T. (2021). Optimization of heterogeneous Fenton-like process with Cu-Fe@CTS as catalyst for degradation of organic matter in leachate concentrate and degradation mechanism research. Waste Management, 134, 220–230.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Han, Z., Yu, Q., Teng, Z., Wu, B., Xue, Z., & Qin, Q. (2019). Effects of manganese content and calcination temperature on Mn/Zr-PILM catalyst for low-temperature selective catalytic reduction of NOx by NH3 in metallurgical sintering flue gas. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 26, 12920–12927.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Heckert, E. G., Seal, S., & Self, W. T. (2008). Fenton-like reaction catalyzed by the rare earth inner transition metal cerium. Environmental Science & Technology, 42, 5014–5019.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hu, J., Zhang, P., An, W., Liu, L., Liang, Y., & Cui, W. (2019). In-situ Fe-doped g-C3N4 heterogeneous catalyst via photocatalysis-Fenton reaction with enriched photocatalytic performance for removal of complex wastewater. Applied Catalysis B: Environmental, 245, 130–142.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Huang, L., Zhang, L., Li, D., Xin, Q., Jiao, R., Hou, X., Zhang, Y., & Li, H. (2020). Enhanced phenol degradation at near neutral pH achieved by core-shell hierarchical 4A zeolite/Fe@Cu catalyst. Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering, 8, 103933.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Jain, B., Singh, A. K., Hashmi, A., Susan, M. A. B. H., & Lellouche, J.-P. (2020). Surfactant-assisted cerium oxide and its catalytic activity towards Fenton process for non-degradable dye. Advanced Composites and Hybrid Materials, 3, 430–441.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Jiang, F., Zhang, L., Yue, T., Tang, H., Wang, L., Sun, W., Zhang, C., & Chen, J. (2021). Defect-boosted molybdenite-based co-catalytic Fenton reaction. Inorganic Chemistry Frontiers, 8, 3440–3449.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Jones, E. R., van Vliet, M. T. H., Qadir, M., & Bierkens, M. F. P. (2021). Country-level and gridded estimates of wastewater production, collection, treatment and reuse. Earth System Science Data, 13, 237–254.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Keshtkar Vanashi, A., & Ghasemzadeh, H. (2022). Copper(II) containing chitosan hydrogel as a heterogeneous Fenton-like catalyst for production of hydroxyl radical: A quantitative study. International Journal of Biological Macromolecules, 199, 348–357.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Li, H., Gao, Q., Wang, G., Han, B., Xia, K., & Zhou, C. (2020a). Unique electron reservoir properties of manganese in Mn(II)-doped CeO2 for reversible electron transfer and enhanced Fenton-like catalytic performance. Applied Surface Science, 502, 144295.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Li, C., Yang, Y., Ren, W., Wang, J., Zhu, T., & Xu, W. (2020b). Effect of Ce doping on catalytic performance of Cu/TiO2 for CO oxidation. Catalysis Letters, 150, 2045–2055.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Li, W., Li, Y., Zhang, D., Lan, Y., & Guo, J. (2020c). CuO-Co3O4@CeO2 as a heterogeneous catalyst for efficient degradation of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid by peroxymonosulfate. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 381, 121209.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Li, R., Siriwardena, D., Speed, D., Fernando, S., Holsen, T. M., & Thagard, S. M. (2021). Treatment of azole-containing industrial wastewater by the fenton process. Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, 60, 9716–9728.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Liu, J., Ke, L., Liu, J., Sun, L., Yuan, X., Li, Y., & Xia, D. (2019). Enhanced catalytic ozonation towards oxalic acid degradation over novel copper doped manganese oxide octahedral molecular sieves nanorods. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 371, 42–52.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Liu, J., Zhang, Z., Liu, B., Hai, H., Lian, L., Ye, P., Song, Y., & Wei, X. (2022). Enhanced catalytic performance of fenton-like reaction: Dependence on meso-structure and Cu-Ce interaction. Catalysis Letters, 152, 2947–2955.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ma, N., Ru, Y., Weng, M., Chen, L., Chen, W., & Dai, Q. (2022). Synergistic mechanism of supported Mn–Ce oxide in catalytic ozonation of nitrofurazone wastewater. Chemosphere, 308, 136192.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mao, J., Quan, X., Wang, J., Gao, C., Chen, S., Yu, H., & Zhang, Y. (2018). Enhanced heterogeneous Fenton-like activity by Cu-doped BiFeO3 perovskite for degradation of organic pollutants. Frontiers of Environmental Science & Engineering, 12, 10.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ou, B., Jiang, S., Zhang, J., & Wu, B. (2024). Triple reaction centers Vo-Ce-CuO nanosheets with single Ce atom for the Fenton-like degradation of niflumic acid. Separation and Purification Technology, 330, 125469.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Pan, G., & Sun, Z. (2021). Cu-doped g-C3N4 catalyst with stable Cu0 and Cu+ for enhanced amoxicillin degradation by heterogeneous electro-Fenton process at neutral pH. Chemosphere, 283, 131257.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Pandey, N. K., Li, H. B., Chudal, L., Bui, B., Amador, E., Zhang, M. B., Yu, H. M., Chen, M. L., Luo, X., & Chen, W. (2022). Exploration of copper-cysteamine nanoparticles as an efficient heterogeneous Fenton-like catalyst for wastewater treatment. Materials Today Physics, 22, 100587.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Peng, X., Yang, Y., Wang, J., Yuan, W., Guo, Y., Hu, W., & Yang, X. (2023). Cu/Fe co-modified nitrogen self-doped biochar as a heterogeneous Fenton-like catalyst for degradation of organic pollutants: Synthesis, performance, and mechanistic study. Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering, 11, 110866.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Qin, H., Cheng, H., Li, H., & Wang, Y. (2020). Degradation of ofloxacin, amoxicillin and tetracycline antibiotics using magnetic core–shell MnFe2O4@C-NH2 as a heterogeneous Fenton catalyst. Chemical Engineering Journal, 396, 125304.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sheng, Y., Sun, Y., Xu, J., Zhang, J., & Han, Y.-F. (2018). Fenton-like degradation of rhodamine B over highly durable Cu-embedded alumina: Kinetics and mechanism. 64, 538–49.

  • Shu, X., Bi, H., Wang, J., Yang, J., Wang, J., Liu, G., & Su, B. (2022). Highly stable and efficient calcined γ-Al2O3 catalysts loaded with MnOx-CeOx for the ozonation of oxytetracycline. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 29, 80399–80410.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sun, Y., Yang, Z., Tian, P., Sheng, Y., Xu, J., & Han, Y.-F. (2019). Oxidative degradation of nitrobenzene by a Fenton-like reaction with Fe-Cu bimetallic catalysts. Applied Catalysis B: Environmental, 244, 1–10.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tamang, M., & Paul, K. K. (2021). Advances in treatment of coking wastewater – a state of art review. Water Science and Technology, 85, 449–473.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Xia, Q., Zhang, D., Yao, Z., & Jiang, Z. (2022). Revealing the enhancing mechanisms of Fe–Cu bimetallic catalysts for the Fenton-like degradation of phenol. Chemosphere, 289.

  • Xin, S., Liu, G., Ma, X., Gong, J., Ma, B., Yan, Q., Chen, Q., Ma, D., Zhang, G., Gao, M., & Xin, Y. (2021). High efficiency heterogeneous Fenton-like catalyst biochar modified CuFeO2 for the degradation of tetracycline: Economical synthesis, catalytic performance and mechanism. Applied Catalysis B: Environmental, 280, 119386.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Xu, B., Xiao, T., Yan, Z., Sun, X., Sloan, J., González-Cortés, S. L., Alshahrani, F., & Green, M. L. H. (2006). Synthesis of mesoporous alumina with highly thermal stability using glucose template in aqueous system. Microporous and Mesoporous Materials, 91, 293–295.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Xu, J., Wang, W., Gao, E., Ren, J., & Wang, L. (2011). Bi2WO6/Cu0: A novel coupled system with enhanced photocatalytic activity by Fenton-like synergistic effect. Catalysis Communications, 12, 834–838.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yuan, X.-Q., Xu, H.-Y., Li, B., Dai, L.-Y., Wang, W.-S., & Li, Y. (2023). Fenton-like degradation of methyl orange over CeO2 loaded on porous Al2O3: Catalyst preparation, efficiency and mechanism. Journal of Physics and Chemistry of Solids, 178, 111314.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang, N., Yi, Y., Lian, J., & Fang, Z. (2020). Effects of Ce doping on the Fenton-like reactivity of Cu-based catalyst to the fluconazole. Chemical Engineering Journal, 395, 124897. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2020.124897

  • Zhang, M., Yin, D., Guo, J., Wu, H., Gong, M., & Feng, X. (2021a). Ternary catalyst Mn-Fe-Ce/Al2O3 for the ozonation of phenol pollutant: Performance and mechanism. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 28, 32921–32932.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang, X., Guo, Y., Shi, S., Liu, E., Li, T., Wei, S., Li, Y., Li, Y., Sun, G., & Zhao, Z. (2021b). Efficient and stable iron-copper montmorillonite heterogeneous Fenton catalyst for removing Rhodamine B. Chemical Physics Letters, 776, 138673.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhou, J., Sun, Y., Sun, W., & Hong, F. (2022). Treatment of phenol-containing coal chemical biochemical tailwater by catalytic ozonation using Mn-Ce/γ-Al2O3. 12, 1019.

  • Zhu, G., Xiong, S., Shi, C., Jin, Y., & Ge, M. (2022a). Fe-Cu@γ-Al2O3 microspheres as a heterogeneous Fenton-like catalyst for degrading polyvinyl alcohol, Rhodamine-B, and Reactive Red X-3B. Journal of Molecular Liquids, 365.

  • Zhu, G., Shi, C., Jin, Y., & Ge, M. (2022b). Enhanced degradation of polyvinyl alcohol over a Cu0-carbon@γ-Al2O3 composite through heterogeneous Fenton-like reactions: Preparation, mechanism, and applications. Applied Catalysis A: General, 643, 118721.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhu, J., Zhang, G., Xian, G., Zhang, N., & Li, J. (2019). A high-efficiency CuO/CeO2 catalyst for diclofenac degradation in Fenton-like system. Frontiers in Chemistry, 7.

Download references

Funding

This research was supported by the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (3132023518).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Dalian Maritime University, Dalian, 116026, China

    Tie Li, Shuaikang Feng, Liqun Wang, Xiaojia Tang, Jiao Zhao & Yimin Zhu

Authors
  1. Tie Li
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Shuaikang Feng
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Liqun Wang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Xiaojia Tang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Jiao Zhao
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Yimin Zhu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yimin Zhu.

Ethics declarations

Competing Interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Li, T., Feng, S., Wang, L. et al. Performance and Mechanism of Cu-Ce/γ-Al2O3 as a Heterogeneous Fenton-Like Catalyst for Phenol Degradation. Water Air Soil Pollut 235, 249 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-024-07064-x

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-024-07064-x

Keywords

Search

Navigation