Ferrous-oxalate-decorated polyphenylene sulfide fenton catalytic microfiber for methylene blue degradation

In this study, ferrous-oxalate(FeC2O4)-decorated polyphenylene sulfide(PPS) catalytic microfiber(PPS/FeC2O4) was synthesized as an efficient heterogeneous Fenton catalyst through a chemical precipitation method. Moreover, an underlying mechanism of synthetic processes was investigated and verified by monitoring intermediate products. Regarding the mechanism, the catalytic microfiber was found to solidly anchor FeC2O4 crystal grains on the surface due to sulfonated PPS interface bonding, remarkably improving the operational stability and reusability of the PPS/FeC2O4 catalyst. Additionally, the separation process of PPS/FeC2O4 was simplified without time-consuming filtration, attributable to the tangled structure of non-woven fabric that prevented the fibers from dispersing. In the typical process, improvement in the PPS/FeC2O4 catalyst revealed methylene blue degradation efficiency of the catalytic fiber above 90% at 6 min and 99% at 15 min, superior to that of the FeC2O4 catalyst. Therefore, PPS/FeC2O4 can be utilized as a potential heterogeneous Fenton catalyst for organic contaminant degradation in wastewater.