Monolithic Mesh-Type Fe-Pd/γ-Al2O3/Al Bifunctional Catalysts for Electro-Fenton Degradation of Rhodamine B

Abstract

A novel Fe-Pd bifunctional catalyst supported on mesh-type γ-Al2O3/Al was prepared and applied in the degradation of Rhodamine B (RhB). The monolithic mesh-type Fe-Pd/γ-Al2O3/Al bifunctional catalyst could be separated from the solution directly and could synthesize H2O2 in situ. The characterization results showed that Fe could improve the dispersion of Pd0, and the electronic interactions between Pd and Fe could increase the Pd0 contents on the catalyst, which increased the productivity of H2O2. Furthermore, DFT calculations proved that the addition of Fe could inhibit the dissociation of O2 and promote the nondissociative hydrogenation of O2 on the surface of Fe-Pd/γ-Al2O3/Al, which resulted in the increasement of H2O2 selectivity. Finally, the in-situ synthesized H2O2 by Pd was furtherly decomposed in situ by Fe to generateOH radicals to degrade organic pollutants. Therefore, Fe-Pd/ γ-Al2O3/Al catalysts exhibited excellent catalytic activity in the in-situ synthesis of H2O2 and the degradation of RhB due to the synergistic effects between Pd and Fe on the catalyst. It provided a new idea for the design of bifunctional electro-Fenton catalysts. Ten cycles of experiments showed that the catalytic activity of Fe-Pd/γ-Al2O3/Al catalyst could be maintained for a long time.