Carbon nanofibers doped with nitrogen for the continuous catalytic ozonation of organic pollutants

Abstract

Catalytic ozonation using carbon materials, in particular nanocarbons, has been appointed as an interesting alternative for the abatement of recalcitrant emerging organic pollutants. Efforts to achieve more efficient catalysts have been carried out, including carbon doping with heteroatoms. In this study, the effect of nitrogen doping of carbon nanofibers in their catalytic activity for the ozonation of organic pollutants was assessed. For this end, pristine and N-doped carbon nanofibers were prepared, both in powder and in structured forms. The former were tested in semi-batch ozonation experiments, while the latter were used in continuous ozonation experiments. It was observed that the presence of N-containing functionalities on the surface of the carbon nanofibers enhances their capability as catalysts for the studied reaction.This work was co-financed by FCT and FEDER under Programe PT2020 (Project UID/EQU/50020/2013). CEMUP and Dr. Carlos Sá are acknowledged for XPS analysis. J. Restivo thanks FCT for research grant SFRH/BD/95751/2012.Peer reviewe