Open Access

ARTICLE

An α-Fe₂O₃/Circulating Fluidized Bed Fly Ash Based Geopolymer Composite Anode for Electrocatalytic Degradation of Indigo Carmine Dye Wastewater

by Jiaqian Lei, Yaojun Zhang^*, Panyang He

College of Materials Science and Engineering, Xi’an University of Architecture and Technology, Xi’an, 710055, China

* Corresponding Author: Yaojun Zhang. Email:

(This article belongs to the Special Issue: Current Advances in Green Nanomaterials Applications)

Journal of Renewable Materials 2021, 9(12), 2277-2289. https://doi.org/10.32604/jrm.2021.015824

Received 16 January 2021; Accepted 15 March 2021; Issue published 22 June 2021

Abstract

Geopolymers have been developed to various catalysts due to their advantages. However, low conductivity restricts their application in the electrocatalysis field. In this study, an α-Fe₂O₃/circulating fluidized bed fly ash based geopolymer (CFAG) composite anode was fabricated using a facile dip-coating method by loading α-Fe₂O₃ in the matrix of CFAG. The effects of α-Fe₂O₃ content on the composition, surface morphology and electrochemical performance of α-Fe₂O₃/CFAG composite anode were investigated. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) results demonstrated that α-Fe₂O₃ was successfully inlaid with the surface of amorphous CFAG matrix. The electrochemical measurements indicated that α-Fe₂O₃/CFAG composite anode had higher oxygen evolution potential, greater electrochemical activity area, and smaller electrochemical impedance than CFAG. The as-prepared composite anode was applied for electrocatalytic degradation of indigo carmine dye wastewater. It was discovered that the highest degradation efficiency over 10α-Fe₂O₃/CFAG reached up 92.6%, and the degradation of indigo carmine followed pseudo-first-order kinetics. Furthermore, 10α-Fe₂O₃/ CFAG composite anode presented excellent stability after five cycles. The active hydroxyl radical was generated over the α-Fe₂O₃/CFAG composite anode, which acted as strong oxidizing agents in the electrocatalytic degradation process.

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