Iron oxide containing graphene/carbon nanotube based carbon aerogel as an efficient E-Fenton cathode for the degradation of methyl blue

This work centers on constructing a high efficient hybrid aerogel to be the cathode of the electro-Fenton system to overcome the defects of low catalytic activity and poor stability of the traditional electro-Fenton system. The material with carbon aerogel as the matrix in which graphene and carbon nanotubewere both contained (GMCA), combining iron oxide nanoparticles as the catalysts, had been successfully prepared via a sol-gel method, followed by carbonization. The morphology and S-BET of the obtained cathode illustrate that the coexistence of graphene and carbon nanotube can enhance the surface area as well as the strength of GMCA. The effect of the operational parameters on the generation of H2O2 and degradation of methyl blue (MB) has also been investigated to determine the optimum operating conditions. The degradation results show that 99% removal efficiency of MB can be achieved after 60 min with the initial pH value of 3, applied current of 15 mA and 5% Fe-GMCA as the cathode. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.