Photo-Fenton Process over an Fe-Free 3%-CuO/Sr_0.76Ce_0.16WO₄ Photocatalyst under Simulated Sunlight

Photo-Fenton is a promising photocatalytic technology that utilizes sunlight. Herein, an Fe-free 3%-CuO/Sr_0.76Ce_0.16WO₄ photocatalyst was synthesized to apply simulated wastewater degradation via a photo-Fenton process under simulated sunlight. The photodegradation efficiency of RhB solution over the 3%-CuO/Sr_0.76Ce_0.16WO₄ photocatalyst is 93.2% in the first 3 h; its photocatalytic efficiency remains at 91.6% even after three cycle experiments. The kinetic constant of the 3%-CuO/Sr_0.76Ce_0.16WO₄ photocatalyst is 0.0127 min^-1, which is 2.8-fold that of an intrinsic Sr_0.76Ce_0.16WO₄ sample. The experiment of radical quenching revealed that the photogenerated electrons and holes are transferred to CuO to form hydroxyl radicals. Besides, the photocatalyst was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), diffused reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) measurements. It has some reference significance for the design of iron-free photocatalysts.