Efficient photodegradation of polystyrene microplastics integrated with hydrogen evolution: Uncovering degradation pathways

Autor: Jiehong He, Lanfang Han, Weiwei Ma, Liying Chen, Chuanxin Ma, Chao Xu, Zhifeng Yang
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2023
Předmět:
Zdroj: iScience, Vol 26, Iss 6, Pp 106833- (2023)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 2589-0042
DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.106833
Popis: Summary: Photocatalytic microplastics (MPs) conversion into valuable products is a promising approach to alleviate MPs pollution in aquatic environments. Herein, we developed an amorphous alloy/photocatalyst composite (FeB/TiO2) that can successfully convert polystyrene (PS) MPs to clean H2 fuel and valuable organic compounds (92.3% particle size reduction of PS-MPs and 103.5 μmol H2 production in 12 h). FeB effectively enhanced the light-absorption and carrier separation of TiO2, thereby promoting more reactive oxygen species generation (especially ‧OH) and combination of photoelectrons with protons. The main products (e.g., benzaldehyde, benzoic acid, etc.) were identified. Additionally, the dominant PS-MPs photoconversion pathway was elucidated based on density functional theory calculations, by which the significant role of ‧OH was demonstrated in combination with radical quenching data. This study provides a prospective approach to mitigate MPs pollution in aquatic environments and reveals the synergistic mechanism governing the photocatalytic conversion of MPs and generation of H2 fuel.
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