Magnesium(ii)-bicarbonate complexes catalyze the Fenton-like reaction under nearly neutral conditions: kinetics and mechanism†
Abstract
The results reported herein indicate that solutions containing Mg(H2O)62+ + HCO3− + H2O2 can replace Fe(H2O)62+ + H2O2, or the use of other transition metal complexes, as catalysts of the Fenton-like processes. The reactive oxidizing intermediate formed in this system is the CO3˙− anion radical. Detailed experimental and density functional theory (DFT) calculations point out that CO3˙− is formed via the decomposition of [(H2O)4MgII(CO32−)(H2O2)]. Implications of this new and green, advanced oxidation process are briefly discussed.