Fe3O4@UiO/IKCN photo-Fenton degradation of phenol-containing wastewater and its mechanism
Article
Kong, J, Lu, X, Xu, Y et al. (2026). Fe3O4@UiO/IKCN photo-Fenton degradation of phenol-containing wastewater and its mechanism
. Environmental Chemistry, 45(4), 1560-1569. 10.7524/j.issn.0254-6108.2025122101
Kong, J, Lu, X, Xu, Y et al. (2026). Fe3O4@UiO/IKCN photo-Fenton degradation of phenol-containing wastewater and its mechanism
. Environmental Chemistry, 45(4), 1560-1569. 10.7524/j.issn.0254-6108.2025122101
Phenolic compounds are widely used in petrochemical, textile, and pharmaceutical industries, resulting in the continuous discharge of phenol-containing wastewater and posing potential risks to aquatic environments and human health. Traditional Fe2+-mediated Fenton oxidation is an effective advanced oxidation process for phenolic wastewater treatment; however, its application is limited by the requirement for external addition of H2O2 and Fe2+ salts, low H2O2 utilization efficiency, narrow pH adaptability, and iron sludge generation. In this study, a g-C3N4based heterogeneous photo-Fenton system was constructed for the efficient degradation of phenolic pollutants without the external addition of Fe2+ salts or H2O2. Under visible-light irradiation, the synthesized Fe3O4@UiO/IKCN catalyst selectively reduces dissolved oxygen (O2) to H2O2 via a two-electron transfer pathway, and the in situ-produced H2O2 is efficiently activated to generate hydroxyl radicals (·OH) for the oxidative degradation of phenolic compounds. The integration of photocatalytic H2O2 formation and subsequent Fenton activation enables sustained production of highly oxidative species and demonstrates superior performance in degrading target pollutants at circumneutral pH. This study provides new insights into the rational design and fabrication of heterogeneous Z-scheme photo-Fenton catalysts and provides experimental and theoretical support for photocatalytic H2O2 synthesis and phenolic wastewater treatment.
