Application of Fe₂V₄O₁₃ as a new multi‐metal heterogeneous Fenton‐like catalyst for the degradation of organic pollutants

Abstract

Iron tetrapolyvanadate (Fe₂V₄O₁₃) was prepared and characterized by X‐ray diffraction (XRD), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) measurement and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). It was found that Fe₂V₄O₁₃ could effectively catalyse H₂O₂ to generate active OH; therefore, Fe₂V₄O₁₃ was employed as a new two‐metal heterogeneous Fenton‐like catalyst. The decomposition of H₂O₂ and the degradation of Acid Orange II catalysed by Fe₂V₄O₁₃ could be well described with a simple pseudo‐first‐order rate equation between the reaction temperatures of 15 °C and 30 °C. It was inferred from the reaction activation energy data that the generation of the hydroxyl radical was a control step in a series of reactions for the oxidation of Acid Orange II in the presence of H₂O₂ and Fe₂V₄O₁₃. The catalytic activity of Fe₂V₄O₁₃ towards degradation of Acid Orange II was not only much higher than that of α‐Fe₂O₃, V₂O₅ and FeVO₄ but also than that of their mixtures with an identical ratio of Fe and V, such as 2FeVO₄ + V₂O₅ and Fe₂O₃ + 2V₂O₅. The high catalytic activity possibly involved a special two‐way Fenton‐like mechanism and the synergistic activation of Fe(III) and V(V) in Fe₂V₄O₁₃ towards H₂O₂.

Keywords:

• Fe₂V₄O₁₃
• Fenton‐like
• hydrogen peroxide
• heterogeneous catalyst
• Acid Orange II

Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the Nature Science Foundations of China (20977117, 20877025), the Special Foundation of Sun Yat‐Sen University, the Science and Technology Research projects of Guangdong Province (0711220600311) and Dongguan City (200910814039), the Nature Science Key Foundations of Guangdong Province (92510027501000005), and the Foundation of New technology and Process of Guangzhou EPA (2009–03).