One-step Sb(III) decontamination using a bifunctional photoelectrochemical filter

Mohua Li; Yanbiao Liu; Chensi Shen; Fang Li; Chong-Chen Wang; Manhong Huang; Bo Yang; Zhiwei Wang; Jianmao Yang; Wolfgang Sand

doi:10.1016/j.jhazmat.2019.121840

One-step Sb(III) decontamination using a bifunctional photoelectrochemical filter

J Hazard Mater. 2020 May 5:389:121840. doi: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2019.121840. Epub 2019 Dec 9.

Authors

Mohua Li¹, Yanbiao Liu², Chensi Shen³, Fang Li³, Chong-Chen Wang⁴, Manhong Huang³, Bo Yang³, Zhiwei Wang⁵, Jianmao Yang⁶, Wolfgang Sand⁷

Affiliations

¹ Textile Pollution Controlling Engineering Center of Ministry of Environmental Protection, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Donghua University, 2999 North Renmin Road, Shanghai, 201620, China.
² Textile Pollution Controlling Engineering Center of Ministry of Environmental Protection, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Donghua University, 2999 North Renmin Road, Shanghai, 201620, China; Shanghai Institute of Pollution Control and Ecological Security, 1239 Siping Road, Shanghai, 200092, China. Electronic address: yanbiaoliu@dhu.edu.cn.
³ Textile Pollution Controlling Engineering Center of Ministry of Environmental Protection, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Donghua University, 2999 North Renmin Road, Shanghai, 201620, China; Shanghai Institute of Pollution Control and Ecological Security, 1239 Siping Road, Shanghai, 200092, China.
⁴ Beijing Key Laboratory of Functional Materials for Building Structure and Environment Remediation, Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Beijing, 100044, China.
⁵ Shanghai Institute of Pollution Control and Ecological Security, 1239 Siping Road, Shanghai, 200092, China; State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai, 200092, China.
⁶ Research Center for Analysis & Measurement, Donghua University, 201620, Shanghai, China.
⁷ Textile Pollution Controlling Engineering Center of Ministry of Environmental Protection, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Donghua University, 2999 North Renmin Road, Shanghai, 201620, China; Institute of Biosciences, Freiberg University of Mining and Technology, Freiberg, 09599, Germany.

PMID: 31859170
DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2019.121840

Abstract

Developing advanced technologies to achieve decontamination of emerging contaminants such as antimony (Sb) is highly demanded. Herein, we successfully designed a dual-functional photoelectrochemical filter system for "one-step" detoxification and sequestration of highly toxic Sb(III). The key to this technology is a photoelectrical-responsive CNT filter functionalized with nanoscale MIL-88B(Fe) photocatalysts. At 2.5 V and under illumination, a 97.7 ± 1.5 % Sb(III) transformation and a 92.9 ± 2.3 % Sb_total removal efficiency can be obtained using an optimal hybrid filter (e.g. CM(50:3)) over 2 h continuous filtration. This can be explained by the synergistic effects of the filter's flow-through design, photoelectrochemical reactivity, fine pore size, and plentiful exposed sorption sites. Various advanced characterization techniques validated the system efficacy. Improved Sb(III) removal kinetics were observed when compared with conventional batch system (97.5 % vs 75.8 %). A synergistic effect between photocatalytic (PC) and electrochemical (EC) process were identified (k_PEC =0.99 h^-1 >k_PC=0.21 h^-1 + k_EC =0.30 h^-1). EPR and photochemical characterizations suggested that hydroxyl radicals dominated the Sb(III) conversion. The proposed technology works effectively across a wide range of pH values and water matrixes. The outcomes of this study can facilitate mechanistic insights into photoelectrocatalysis and provide a promising nanotechnology for efficient Sb(III) decontamination.

Keywords: Continuous-flow; Metal–organic frameworks; Oxidation; Photoelectrochemical; Sequestration.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't