Issue 4, 2021

Emerging investigator series: 3D graphene anchored zerovalent Fe/Cu aerogel activating persulfate for efficiently 2,4 dichlorophenol degradation over a broad pH range

Abstract

Nanoscale zero-valent bimetals are receiving considerable attention because of their excellent capability to degrade organic pollutants in water; however, nanoparticle aggregation reduces their reactivity, and the difficult separation limits their general application. Herein, we have developed a novel graphene aerogel anchored nano zero-valent iron and copper (GA-Fe/Cu) composite for the removal of 2,4-dichlorophenol (DCP) through activation by persulfate (PS) under aerobic conditions. The results show that the GA-Fe/Cu aerogel exhibits outstanding performances in the DCP degradation by PS activation, which increase as the Fe/Cu loading increases from 3.1% [GA-Fe/Cu(3.1)] to 9.4% [GA-Fe/Cu(9.4)]. The GA-Fe/Cu(9.4) aerogel exhibits an optimal catalytic activity for DCP degradation (∼100%) by PS activation within 60 min (k1 = 0.0748 min−1). The degradation efficiency of DCP by GA-Fe/Cu(9.4) significantly increases with increasing PS concentration, and slightly decreases from 100% to 80% upon increasing the pH from 4.5 to 9.5. The SO4˙, ˙OH, and ˙O2 radicals are found to be the dominant reactive oxygen species (ROS) generated by PS activation with GA-Fe/Cu(9.4), while non-radical mechanisms induced by GA appear to be also responsible for the DCP degradation. In addition, 83.2% of DCP is found to be completely mineralized by this reaction system. Thus, the findings of this work provide an alternative route for the efficient removal of organic pollutants from water.

Graphical abstract: Emerging investigator series: 3D graphene anchored zerovalent Fe/Cu aerogel activating persulfate for efficiently 2,4 dichlorophenol degradation over a broad pH range

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
11 Des 2020
Accepted
08 Jan 2021
First published
11 Jan 2021

Environ. Sci.: Water Res. Technol., 2021,7, 714-725

Emerging investigator series: 3D graphene anchored zerovalent Fe/Cu aerogel activating persulfate for efficiently 2,4 dichlorophenol degradation over a broad pH range

K. Liu, M. Li, Z. Zhu, B. Gao, H. Zeng, Y. Ma and L. Fang, Environ. Sci.: Water Res. Technol., 2021, 7, 714 DOI: 10.1039/D0EW01091J

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