The effect on ozone catalytic performance of prepared-FeOOH by different precursors

In this study, different precursors were used to prepare FeOOH and the ozonation catalytic activity was s investigate by using ibuprofen as the degradation substrate. It could be found that FeOOH prepared from ferric sulfate performed higher activity. Subsequently, the catalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectrometer, scanning electron microscope and N-2 adsorption-desorption techniques. X-ray diffraction and Fourier transform infrared spectrometer showed that the synthesized FeOOH consisted of alpha-FeOOH and beta-FeOOH mainly. Scanning electron microscope showed that their appearance and morphology were significantly different, and the FeOOH prepared from ferric sulfate had a larger specific surface area, resulting in its better catalytic activity. Finally, the hydroxyl groups and pH(zpc) of the catalyst surface were measured. It was also found that the FeOOH prepared from ferric sulfate owned more hydroxyl groups and the pH(zpc) of the surface was closer to the pH of the degradation substrate, which illustrated the reasons for the increased catalytic activity. In addition, the degradation kinetics conformed to the pseudo first-order kinetic model and the hydroxyl radicals played an important role in the reaction process.