Catalytic ozonation of phenol by ZnFe2O4/ZnNCN: performance and mechanism

A novel magnetic catalyst was synthesized and applied in heterogeneous catalytic ozonation process. The ZnFe2O4/ZnNCN material was synthesized by hydrothermal and high-temperature calcination method and characterized by XPS, XRD, FTIR, VSM, and SEM techniques. In the system of O3/ZnFe2O4/ZnNCN, the removal rates of phenol and chemical oxygen demand (COD) reached 93% and 43% at 60 min. Further analysis shows that ZnFe2O4/ZnNCN has a significant catalytic effect on O3, which is demonstrated by the first-order kinetic constant being 1.93 times than O3 alone. The catalyst exhibits excellent cycling stability during repeated catalytic ozonation process and can be fully recycled under an applied magnetic field. The role of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and surface hydroxyl groups was investigated, and a mechanism for catalytic ozonation was proposed. This work not only builds an efficient catalytic ozonation system, but also provides a potential modification strategy for spinel oxides.