Photocatalytic degradation properties of α-Fe(2)O(3) nanoparticles for dibutyl phthalate in aqueous solution system

The phthalate ester compounds in industrial wastewater, as kinds of environmental toxic organic pollutants, may interfere with the body's endocrine system, resulting in great harm to humans. In this work, the photocatalytic degradation properties of dibutyl phthalate (DBP) were investigated using α-Fe(2)O(3) nanoparticles and H(2)O(2) in aqueous solution system. The optimal parameters and mechanism of degradation were discussed by changing the morphology and usage amount of catalysts, the dosage of H(2)O(2), pH value and the initial concentration of DBP. Hollow α-Fe(2)O(3) nanoparticles showed the highest degradation efficiency when 30 mg of catalyst and 50 µl of H(2)O(2) were used in the DBP solution with the initial concentration of 13 mg l(−1) at pH = 6.5. When the reaction time was 90 min, DBP was degraded 93% for the above optimal parameters. The photocatalytic degradation mechanism of DBP was studied by the gas chromatography–mass spectrometry technique. The result showed that the main degradation intermediates of DBP were ortho-phthalate monobutyl ester, methyl benzoic acid, benzoic acid, benzaldehyde, and heptyl aldehyde when the reaction time was 2 h. DBP and its intermediates were almost completely degraded to CO(2) and H(2)O in 12 h in the α-Fe(2)O(3)/ H(2)O(2)/UV system.