Heterogeneous Fenton-like oxidation of p-hydroxybenzoic acid using Fe/CeO2-TiO2 catalyst

Abstract

This paper is built on the Fenton-like oxidation of p-hydroxybenzoic acid (p–HBZ) in the presence of H2O2 and 3%Fe supported on CeO2-TiO2 aerogels under mild conditions. These catalysts were deeply characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), hydrogen temperature programmed reduction (H2-TPR), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The effect of thermal treatment, pH (2–3, 5, 7), H2O2/p–HBZ molar ratio (5, 15, 20, 25) and reaction temperature (25 °C, 40 °C and 60 °C) on the catalytic properties of supported Fe catalysts are studied. Our results highlight the role of CeO2 and the calcination of the catalyst to obtain the highest catalytic properties after 10 min: 73% of p–HBZ conversion and 52% of total organic carbon (TOC) abatement.