Solar‐Active Magnetic Fe ₃ O ₄ ‐Carbon‐CeO ₂ for the Oxidation of Phenolic Compounds

Abstract

ABSTRACT Scrutinizing attention has been drawn to phenolic compounds in water bodies and the environment as a result of their carcinogenicity, neurotoxicity, mutagenicity, and endocrine‐disrupting abilities. Due to these challenges, there is an urgent need for understanding overall water quality and the development of sustainable techniques for environmental remediation. This study reports the removal of selected Phenolic Compounds (2,4‐ Dinitrophenol (2,4‐DNP), Phenol (PHE), and 2,4,6‐ Trichlorophenol (2,4,6‐TCP) by photocatalytic degradation using a cost‐effective, biodegradable, and green heterogeneous photocatalytic composite. Fe 3 O 4 ‐Orange peel‐CeO 2 Core‐shell structured magnetic photocatalyst was applied for the photocatalytic degradation of the selected Phenolic Compounds in water, which showed an excellent photocatalytic activity in this order: (2,4,6‐trichlorophenol> Phenol>2,4‐dinitrophenol). The photodegradation result showed >80% after 30 min and over >98% removal after 120 min for the phenolic compounds. Response Surface methodology (RSM) was used for the design of the experiment (DOE). The statistical results showed that the quadratic model fits best for the experiment. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed that the concentration of the phenolic compounds, pH, photocatalyst dose, and electrolytes statistically have a very significant influence on the degradation of these phenolic compounds. The reusability of Magnetite‐Orange (MO‐CeO 2 ) showed its stability and efficiency for phenolic compounds removal after 5 cycles.