Photocatalysis-Fenton Degradation of Phenol over Fe-Ti Pillared Bentonite

Fe-Ti pillared bentonite (Fe-Ti-B) was successfully prepared through a simple cation exchange reaction. The obtained sample was characterized by N2 adsorption-desorption, X-ray powder diffraction, and inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry. The effects of initial pH, catalyst amount, and H2O2 concentration on photocatalysis-Fenton degradation of phenol were investigated in detail. The results showed that the conversion and mineralization rates of phenol were over 95% at pH = 6.6 under UV light irradiation. At the same time, the iron leaching rate was kept below 2 mg/L during the degradation process. The performance of the Fe-Ti-B catalyst is superior to Fe-pillared bentonite. Moreover, it still kept a high activity after 5 times run, indicating that Fe-Ti-B is a highly stable catalyst. The degrada- tion rate of phenol could even reach 70.3% after 180 min under alkaline conditions (pH = 9.0). The excellent performance of Fe-Ti-B may be attributed to its large surface area and strong surface acidity.