Synthesis of Fe3O4@chitosan beads for degradation of sulfanilamide using photo-fenton process

Abstract

In this work, the magnetic iron oxide (Fe3O4) supported chitosan beads (Fe3O4@chitosan) were synthesized and used as heterogeneous catalysts for photo-Fenton degradation of sulfanilamide in aqueous solution. The Fe3O4@ chitosan beads were prepared by dropwise the mixture of acidic chitosan and Fe3O4 into sodium tripolyphosphate solution. The products were characterized by SEM, XRD and FTIR. The catalytic activities of Fe3O4@ chitosan beads were evaluated by photo-Fenton degradation of sulfanilamide under the irradiation of UV light. The operating parameters (reaction time, H2O2 dosage, initial pH and catalyst amount) were studied. The optimal conditions for the degradation of 50mg/L initial sulfanilamide were achieved at using 0.32mmol of H2O2, pH = 3.0 and 100g/L of catalyst. The degradation efficiency of sulfanilamide was 84.2% after 120min of treatment.