A Sustainable Wood-Based Iron Photocatalyst for Multiple Uses with Sunlight: Water Treatment and Radical...

A sustainable photocatalyst for use with multiple purpose comprising demethylated lignin (Fe₃ O₄ @D-wood) was made by treatment of wood and iron oxide. Characterization followed by XRD, UV/Vis, photo-current studies, and electrochemical measurements. This material became subject of photocatalytic explorations for water treatment and material synthesis by radical photopolymerization. Exposure of Fe₃ O₄ @D-wood with artificial sunlight showed an improved activity considering photochemical oxidation of organic pollutants in the presence of H₂ O₂ . The efficient generation of reactive radicals brought this system also to photopolymerization. Here, radicals based on reactive oxygen species (ROS) generated in the catalytic cycle can be seen as the dominating species to initiate radical polymerization. A mixture of UDMA and TPGDA showed good reactivity with cumene hydroperoxide (CHP). Photocatalyst used for water treatment facilitates reuse for photopolymerization.