Fabrication of fluorine doped graphene and SmVO4 based dispersed and adsorptive photocatalyst for abatement of phenolic compounds from water and bacterial disinfection

Abstract During heterogeneous photocatalysis, high dispersion of photocatalyst is vital for efficiency of slurry type photoreactors. In this work, we have prepared fluorine doped graphene (FG24) as a highly dispersible adsorbent by sonochemical exfoliation method. Moreover, SmVO 4 (SV) nanoparticles were immobilized onto the surface of FG24 to prepare SV/FG24 photocatalyst, using post synthesis method. The zeta potential and Tyndall effect experiments confirmed the formation of highly dispersed SV/FG24 photocatalyst. The thickness of both FG24 and SV/FG24 was less than 2.0 nm. The band gap of SV/FG24 was 2.28 eV. The high surface area of SV/FG24 was suitable for adsorptive removal of phenol and 2, 4-dinitrophenol (DNP). The simultaneous process of adsorption and photocatalysis was the most effective for the degradation of selected phenolic compounds. Both phenol and DNP were mineralized in 10 h under visible light. The intermediates formation during the degradation process was proved by high-performance liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry analysis. The photocatalytic activity of SV/FG24 was also tested for photocatalytic bacterial disinfection of Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis, Pseudomonas fluorescence, Staphylococcus aureus, and Streptococcus enterica bacteria. The selected bacteria were deactivated using SV/FG24 in 3 h under visible light. Both OH ˙ and O 2 ˙ ¯ radicals played an important role during both degradation and disinfection process. Due to significant recyclability, SV/FG24 could be used as cost-effective photocatalyst for wastewater treatment. Unlike conventional slurry photo-reactors, no magnetic stirring was used during photocatalytic degradation reactions. We have successfully fabricated high-dispersed photocatalyst which remained dispersed for 10 h and effectively used for photocatalytic water purification process.