Catalytic Carbonization of Chlorinated Poly(vinyl chloride) Microfibers into Carbon Microfibers with High Performance in the Photodegradation of Congo Red

A simple approach was reported to prepare carbon microfibers embedded with octahedral Fe3O4 crystals (Fe/CMFs) through catalytic carbonization of chlorinated poly(vinyl chloride) (CPVC) microfibers using Fe3O4 as catalyst at 700 degrees C. Without Fe3O4, irregular carbon was obtained. However, after adding a proper amount of Fe3O4, carbon microfibers with uniform size were prepared. The influence of Fe3O4 content on the morphology of carbon microfibers was investigated. The resultant Fe/CMFs were used as heterogeneous Fenton catalysts and showed high photodegradation efficiency of Congo red under UV or sunlight irradiation. This indicated that the Fe/CMFs had the potential application in wastewater treatment. More importantly, this method provides a novel way to prepare functional carbon (or carbon-based) materials with various morphologies such as spheres, fibers, and foams.