Nanocomposite of crystalline Fe2O3 and CuO particles and mesostructured SBA-15 silica as an active catalyst for wet peroxide oxidation processes

Crystalline Fe2O3 and CuO particles have been incorporated into surfactant-templated SBA-15 materials by direct synthesis. Activity and stability of this material were evaluated on the wet peroxide oxidation of phenol under mild reaction conditions. Its catalytic performance was monitored in terms of total organic carbon (TOC) conversion. The stability was determined by careful measurements of metal leaching into the aqueous solution. The presence of copper prevents the leaching of iron species and increases TOC degradation as compared with those materials containing only crystalline Fe2O3 particles. Moreover, the treatment of iron–copper composite materials under controlled acidic conditions in the presence of hydrogen peroxide leads to the stabilization of metallic species, maintaining TOC degradation rates similar to the fresh catalyst. Thus, this work introduces a new material with interesting properties as catalysts in advanced oxidation processes for pollutant abatement in waste waters.