Tantalum (oxy)nitrides nanotube arrays for the degradation of atrazine in vis-Fenton-like process

In order to overcome the limitation of the application of nanoparticles, tantalum (oxy)nitrides nanotube arrays on a Ta foil were synthesized and introduced in vis (visible light)-Fenton-like system to enhance the degradation of atrazine. At first, the anodization of tantalum foil in a mild electrolyte solution containing ethylene glycol and water (v:v=2:1) plus 0.5wt.% NH(4)F produced tantala nanotubes with an average diameter of 30nm and a length of approximately 1μm. Then the nitridation of tantala nanotube arrays resulted in the replacement of N atoms to O atoms to form tantalum (oxy)nitrides (TaON and Ta(3)N(5)), as testified by XRD and XPS analyses. The synthesized tantalum (oxy)nitrides nanotubes absorb well in the visible region up to 600nm. Under visible light, tantalum (oxy)nitrides nanotube arrays were catalytically active for Fe(3+) reduction. With tantalum (oxy)nitrides nanotube arrays, the degradation of atrazine and the formation of the intermediates in vis/Fe(3+)/H(2)O(2) system were significantly accelerated. This was explained by the higher concentration of Fe(2+) and thus the faster decomposition of H(2)O(2) with tantalum (oxy)nitrides nanotubes. In addition, tantalum (oxy)nitrides nanotubes exhibited stable performance during atrazine degradation for three runs. The good performance and stability of the tantalum (oxy)nitrides nanotubes film with the convenient separation, suggest that this film is a promising catalyst for vis-Fenton-like degradation.