In recent years, improving the performance of catalysts through defect modulation has attracted extensive attention. However, the impact of defect rearrangement on Fenton-like photocatalytic reactions has not been studied. In this study, Fe-containing polyoxometalate molecules were grafted onto the surface of defective TiO2.The influence of oxygen vacancy formation and the defect arrangement process on the catalytic activity was investigated. The results indicated that the calcination of cyanamide modified defective TiO2 is beneficial for the spatial reconstruction of oxygen vacancies generated by H2 atmosphere treatment. With rearranged structural defects, photo-generated electrons were prone to transfer from the surface of P25 to Fe-POM nanoparticles. Due to the enhanced charge separation in TiO2 and the increased reactive sites on the Fenton-like reagent, Fenton-like photocatalysts with rearranged defects showed a 13-fold increase in catalytic activity during the degradation of dye molecules.
Keywords: Fenton-like catalysis; defect rearrangement; iron phosphotungstate; photocatalytic reaction; titanium dioxide.