A comparison of visible-light photocatalysts for solar photoelectrocatalysis coupled to solar photoelectro-Fenton: Application to the degradation of the pesticide simazine.

Three different visible-light photocatalysts (hematite (α-FeO), bismuth vanadate (BiVO) and Mo-doped bismuth vanadate (BiMoVO)) deposited on transparent fluorine-doped SnO (FTO) were evaluated for the solar-driven photoelectrocatalytic treatment of emerging pollutants. BiMoVO was found to be the most effective photoanode, yielding the fastest degradation rate constant and highest mineralization efficiency using phenol as the oxidation probe. The BiMoVO photoanode was then used to degrade the herbicide simazine in a photoelectrolytic cell combining photoelectrocatalysis (PEC) with photoelectron-Fenton (PEF) under solar light (SPEC-SPEC).