For better understanding of the mechanism, two experiments were conducted.
One is to add 10 mM t-butanol to the reaction and the result is shown in Fig. SM-7.
The phenol degradation is not inhibited in presence of t-butanol but enhanced somehow.
The reason is not clear.
However, it can be concluded that hydroxyl radical may not be involved in phenol conversion.
Another experiment of chemical oxidation of phenol with NaClO was conducted.
Fig. SM-8 displays that phenol is first oxidized to 2-CP and 4-CP, and then dichlorophenols and 2,4,6-trichlorophenol are formed.