Degradation of phenol accumulated in a micellar molybdovanadophosphate nanoreactor by air at ambient temperature and atmospheric pressure.

A novel route to facilitate the degradation of phenol is reported. This new approach is based on a micellar polyoxometalate (POM) catalytic system. The micellar POM catalyst could promote phenol molecules' degradation into a simple inorganic compound such as CO2 using only air as an oxidant under room conditions. The results of the recycling experiment suggests that the micellar POMs may be used as a potential catalyst for the degradation of phenol in wastewater.