Synthesis of clay-based mesoporous material and its evaluation in the photodegradation of bisphenol A

A raw montmorillonite clay from Uruguay was modified with Fe(NO3)3, cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB), and tetraethoxysilane (TEOS), followed by calcination at 500 degrees C. The clay and the novel synthetized material were characterized by thermogravimetric analysis, nitrogen adsorption-desorption isotherms, and X-ray diffraction. The clay-base material obtained shows a N2 adsorption-desorption isotherm with a hysteresis loop, characteristic of mesoporous solid,s and a specific surface area of 437 m2 g-1. In addition, the synthesized material was evaluated as catalyst in the heterogeneous photo-Fenton process assisted with visible LED light. The clay-base mesoporous material showed to be active as catalyst in the photodegradation of bisphenol A, the model micropollutant selected for the study, by the photo-Fenton process.