2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid herbicide photocatalytic degradation by zero-valent iron / titanium dioxide based on activated carbon

Abstract

The sol-gel procedure is applied to prepare zero-valent iron/dioxide titanium nanocomposite based on activated carbon and the nanocomposite is characterized by XRF, XRD, FT-IR, BET, FE-SEM and EDX analysis. The response surface methodology (RSM) of experimental design is adopted to evaluate the effects of five operational factors, including 2,4-D initial concentration, nanocomposite concentration, irradiation time, pH, and the ratio of hydrogen peroxide concentration to the 2,4-D initial concentration on the performance of photocatalytic degradation of 2,4-D. An increase in the 2,4-D initial concentration, nanocomposite concentration, and pH, reduces the 2,4-D degradation. The performance of degradation is increased and then slightly decreased by increasing the irradiation time and the ratio of hydrogen peroxide concentration to the 2,4-D initial concentration. The optimum conditions are determined at the maximum 2,4-D initial concentration, the minimum concentrations of nanocomposite and hydrogen peroxide, and neutral pH. © 2018