scholarly journals Analysis of Photocatalytic Degradation of Phenol with Exfoliated Graphitic Carbon Nitride and Light-Emitting Diodes Using Response Surface Methodology

Catalysts ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 898
Author(s):  
Adeem Ghaffar Rana ◽  
Mirjana Minceva

Response surface methodology (RSM) involving a Box–Benkhen design (BBD) was employed to analyze the photocatalytic degradation of phenol using exfoliated graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) and light-emitting diodes (wavelength = 430 nm). The interaction between three parameters, namely, catalyst concentration (0.25–0.75 g/L), pollutant concentration (20–100 ppm), and pH of the solution (3–10), was examined and modeled. An empirical regression quadratic model was developed to relate the phenol degradation efficiency with these three parameters. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was then applied to examine the significance of the model; this showed that the model is significant with an insignificant lack of fit and an R2 of 0.96. The statistical analysis demonstrated that, in the studied range, phenol concentration considerably affected phenol degradation. The RSM model shows a significant correlation between predicted and experimental values of photocatalytic degradation of phenol. The model’s accuracy was tested for 50 ppm of phenol under optimal conditions involving a catalyst concentration of 0.4 g/L catalysts and a solution pH of 6.5. The model predicted a degradation efficiency of 88.62%, whereas the experimentally achieved efficiency was 83.75%.

2022 ◽  
pp. 118734
Author(s):  
Huaijun Tang ◽  
Qiuhong Chen ◽  
Shiyou Lu ◽  
Xianghua Li ◽  
Haoju Li ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (7) ◽  
pp. 6798-6805
Author(s):  
Huijun Zhang ◽  
Daiwei Zheng ◽  
Zhuang Cai ◽  
Zhiping Song ◽  
Yuanteng Xu ◽  
...  

Catalysts ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 662
Author(s):  
Adeem Ghaffar Rana ◽  
Minoo Tasbihi ◽  
Michael Schwarze ◽  
Mirjana Minceva

The photocatalytic performance of metal-free graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) was examined using visible light-emitting diodes (LEDs). A comparative and parametric study was conducted using the photocatalytic degradation of phenol as a model reaction. The g-C3N4 photocatalyst was synthesized from melamine using thermal condensation, followed by a thermal exfoliation that increases the catalyst surface area from 11 to 170 m2/g. Different characterization techniques, namely X-ray powder diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, nitrogen adsorption using the Brunauer–Emmett–Teller method, ultraviolet-visible (UV–vis) spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, photoluminescence spectroscopy (PL), and zeta potential analysis, were used to characterize the photocatalyst. A comparison of the photodegradation experiments conducted with a full-spectrum xenon lamp and a custom-made single-wavelength LED immersion lamp showed that the photocatalyst performance was better with the LED immersion lamp. Furthermore, a comparison of the performance of exfoliated and bulk g-C3N4 revealed that exfoliated g-C3N4 completely degraded the pollutant in 90 min, whereas only 25% was degraded with bulk g-C3N4 in 180 min because the exfoliated g-C3N4 enhances the availability of active sites, which promotes the degradation of phenol. Experiments conducted at different pH have shown that acidic pH favors the degradation process. The exfoliated g-C3N4 has shown high photocatalytic performance in the photodegradation of other phenolic compounds, such as catechol, m-cresol, and xylenol, as well.


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