The Catalytic Wet Air Oxidation of Phenol with Fe₂O₃ Nanoparticles

The Fe₂O₃ nanoparticles have been prepared by the co-precipitation and followed by calcination process. The as-prepared Fe₂O₃ nanoparticles were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy-dispersive X-ray analysis (EDS), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Catalytic wet air oxidation of phenol with molecular oxygen using the Fe₂O₃ nanoparticles catalyst at different temperatures has been studied. The results showed that the catalytic activity of the Fe₂O₃ nanoparticles for phenol degradation can be increased with increasing the temperature, and the degradation of phenol catalyzed by the Fe₂O₃ nanoparticles fits the first-order kinetics.