Nanostructures for Phenol, Ciprofloxacin and 17±-ethinylestradiol Degradation

Abstract

This project aims the use nanomaterials to electrogenerate hydrogen peroxide through the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) for application in advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) for organic pollutant (phenol, ciprofloxacin and 17±-ethinylestradiol) degradation purposes toward treating wastewater. These processes may be performed using UV light irradiation, Fenton's reaction or photoelectro-Fenton degradation, among others. W, Ce, Co, V, Sn and Ni electrocatalysts supported on high-surface-area carbon and/or carbon nanotubes, with or without the presence of Au, will be prepared for this purpose using the polymeric precursor and/or chemical reduction method to produce alloys, co-deposits and core-shell type structures. Concomitantly, heat treatment and chemical modification of carbon functional groups and carbon nanotubes will also be performed toward generating further carboxylic acid groups, responsible for generating hydrogen peroxide and facilitating the degradation of organic pollutants. The materials will be characterized using physical methods, including X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), assessing the following issues: particle size, phases and formation of nanostructures. The efficiency of electrocatalysts will be first assessed using voltammetric methods (linear sweep voltammetry for the ORR) using a rotating ring-disk electrode. The processes of degradation of organic pollutants using gas-diffusion electrodes and AOPs will be monitored using different methods, including high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), concentration measurement of total dissolved organic carbon (TOC) and gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry. The Project was conducted toward developing nanomaterials for in-situ hydrogen peroxide electrogeneration and using advanced oxidative processes to generate hydroxyl radicals with solution electrogenerated peroxide for phenol, ciprofloxacin and 17±- ethinylestradiol degradation. (AU)