Plastic optical fibres applied on the photocatalytic degradation of phenol with Ag2MoO4 and ß-Ag2MoO4/Ag3PO4 under visible light.

In this study, plastic optical fibre (POF) was considered as a light-transmitting medium and substrate for use in a photocatalytic environmental purification system, using Ag2MoO4 and ß-Ag2MoO4/Ag3PO4 as photocatalysts. Pure Ag2MoO4 and a ß-Ag2MoO4/Ag3PO4 composite were synthesized using a facile precipitation method. The composition, structures and optical properties of as-prepared catalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), UV/Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (UV/Vis DRS), BET surface area and TGA/DTG. The catalysts were immobilized on POF and on the glass reactor surface and their efficiency in the phenol degradation was evaluated in a batch reactor under visible light. The use of POF offers advantages such as ease of handling and good adherence characteristics to support Ag2MoO4. The photoactivity follows the order ß-Ag2MoO4/Ag3PO4 ≅ Ag2MoO4 > TiO2 P25, for photocatalysts immobilized on the glass reactor surface or in aqueous suspension. The immobilization of Ag2MoO4 on POF revealed that thinner Ag2MoO4 coatings achieved faster pollutant removal rates from solution, and the optimal catalyst deposition is 0.64 mg/cm2, causing maximum the light penetration and electron-hole generation close to the solid-liquid interface.

Peroxidation and photo-peroxidation of pantoprazole in aqueous solution using silver molybdate as catalyst.

In this study, silver molybdate was used as a catalyst in different oxidation processes to degrade pantoprazole (PAN) from aqueous suspension. The catalyst was synthesized using a controlled precipitation method and characterized by XRD, FTIR spectroscopy, BET analysis, Zeta potential, FEG-SEM/EDS, DRS and EPR. The α- and ß-phases of Ag2MoO4 were identified as crystalline structure of the butterfly-shaped particles. The metastable α-phase could be completely converted into ß-Ag2MoO4 by thermal treatment at 300 °C. The band gap energy of ß-Ag2MoO4 (Eg = 3.25 eV) is slightly higher than for as-prepared catalyst (α-Ag2MoO4 + ß-Ag2MoO4) (Eg = 3.09 eV), suggesting that as-prepared catalyst should be active under visible light. PAN is sensible to UV light irradiation, and the addition of H2O2 as electron acceptor enhanced the mineralization rate. In the catalytic UV-based reactions, high PAN oxidation efficiencies were obtained (>85%) but with low mineralization (32-64%). Catalytic peroxidation and photo-catalytic peroxidation under visible light showed the highest PAN oxidation efficiency, leading to its almost complete mineralization (>95%), even under dark conditions (98% in 120 min). Several degradation byproducts were identified and three mechanistic routes of PAN decomposition were proposed. The identified byproducts are less toxic than the parent compound. EPR coupled with the spin trapping method identified •OH radicals as the main ROS species in both photocatalytic and catalytic peroxidation reactions. Ag2MoO4 showed to be a promising catalyst to promote the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide into ROS.1.