An effective and magnetic Fe 2 O 3 -ZrO 2 catalyst for phenol degradation under neutral pH in the heterogeneous Fenton-like reaction

Abstract A novel Fe 2 O 3 -ZrO 2 catalyst was prepared by the sol-gel method, and investigated for phenol degradation in the Fenton-like reaction under neutral pH condition. The ZrO 2 addition increased the surface areas of the catalyst. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed that ZrO 2 nano-particle dispersed on the surface of Fe 2 O 3 . X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) indicated that the Fe 2+ amount increased with the increase of the Zr content on the surface. The Fe 2 O 3 -ZrO 2 catalyst produced hydroxyl radicals (OH ) and superoxide radicals (O 2 − /HO 2 ), and exhibited good catalytic performance in the reaction. Total phenol conversion and 56% TOC removal were achieved after 210 min under neutral pH at 60 °C in the heterogeneous Fenton-like reaction. In addition, the prepared Fe 2 O 3 -ZrO 2 catalyst had good magnetism.