Efficient degradation of atrazine residues in wastewater by persulfate assisted Ag3VO4/Bi2MoO6/diatomite under visible light

In this study, with diatomite as the carrier, Ag3VO4/Bi2MoO6/diatomite ternary composite was synthesized by hydrothermal method and used to activate persulfate (PS) to degrade atrazine (ATZ) under visible light irradiation. The prepared catalysts were characterized by a series of different test methods, such as XRD, FT-IR, SEM, XPS, BET, photocurrent response and so on. Meanwhile, the effects of diatomite dosage, Ag3VO4 dosage, PS concentration and initial pH value on ATZ removal were studied. The structural stability and reusability of Ag3VO4/Bi2MoO6/diatomite composites can be verified by cyclic experiments. Besides, the intermediate products degraded by ATZ were detected by liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry (LC-MS), and the possible transformation pathway was proposed. At the same time, the quenching experiment and EPR test showed that superoxide radical (center dot O-2(-)) hydroxyl radical (center dot OH) sulfate radical (SO4 center dot-) and h(+) both promoted the degradation of ATZ. Finally, on the basis of comprehensive analysis, the reasonable reaction mechanism of removing ATZ by Ag3VO4/Bi2MoO6/diatomite + PS system was proposed. The results of this study promoted the application of Ag3VO4/Bi2MoO6/diatomite composites as organic degradation catalysts, reflecting the potential of composite materials in the removal of pesticide residues in environmental remediation.

Automated summary

In this study, Ag3VO4/Bi2MoO6/diatomite ternary composite was synthesized and used to degrade atrazine under visible light irradiation. The prepared catalysts were characterized and the effects of different factors on ATZ removal were studied. The stability and reusability of the composite material were verified, and the intermediate products and possible transformation pathway were detected. The quenching experiment and EPR test showed the promoting effect of various radicals on ATZ degradation. The reasonable reaction mechanism of removing ATZ was proposed based on comprehensive analysis.