Enhanced degradation of polyethylene terephthalate plastics by CdS/CeO2 heterojunction photocatalyst activated peroxymonosulfate

Yang Wan; Huijie Wang; Jiejing Liu; Xin Liu; Xianghai Song; Weiqiang Zhou; Jisheng Zhang; Pengewei Huo

doi:10.1016/j.jhazmat.2023.131375

Enhanced degradation of polyethylene terephthalate plastics by CdS/CeO₂ heterojunction photocatalyst activated peroxymonosulfate

J Hazard Mater. 2023 Jun 15:452:131375. doi: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2023.131375. Epub 2023 Apr 5.

Authors

Yang Wan¹, Huijie Wang¹, Jiejing Liu¹, Xin Liu¹, Xianghai Song¹, Weiqiang Zhou¹, Jisheng Zhang¹, Pengewei Huo²

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Green Chemistry and Chemical Technology, School of Chemistry & Chemical Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, PR China.
² Institute of Green Chemistry and Chemical Technology, School of Chemistry & Chemical Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, PR China. Electronic address: huopw@ujs.edu.cn.

PMID: 37030225
DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2023.131375

Abstract

Waste plastics have posed enormous to the environment, but their recycling, especially polyethylene terephthalate plastics, was still a huge challenge. Here, CdS/CeO₂ was used as the photocatalyst to promote the degradation of PET-12 plastics by activating peroxymonosulfate (PMS) synergistic photocatalytic system. The results showed that 10 % CdS/CeO₂ had the best performance under the illumination condition, and the weight loss rate of PET-12 could reach 93.92 % after adding 3 mM PMS. The effects of important parameters (PMS dose and co-existing anions) on PET-12 degradation were systematically studied, and the excellent performance of the photocatalytic-activated PMS system was verified by comparison experiments. SO₄^•- contributed the most to the degradation performance of PET-12 plastics, which was demonstrated by electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) and free radical quenching experiments. Furthermore, the results of GC showed that the gas products including CO, and CH₄. This indicated that the mineralized products could be further reduced to hydrocarbon fuel under the action of the photocatalyst. This job supplied a new idea for the photocatalytic treatment of waste microplastics in the water, which will help recycle waste plastics and recycle carbon resources.

Keywords: Peroxymonosulfate activation; Photocatalysis; Polyethylene terephthalate; Radical pathway.