Core-shell structured mZVI/Ca(OH)2 particle: Morphology, aggregation and corrosion

Abstract

A calcium hydroxide shell was coated onto the surface of micro-sized zero valent iron (mZVI) particles by hydrothermal approach in oversaturated Ca(OH)2 solution. The heterogeneous nucleation of nano-scale Ca(OH)2 particle on micro-scale spherical ZVI surface was clearly observed by scanning electronic microscope (SEM). The moderate solubility of Ca(OH)2 was demonstrated as the crucial factor in inducing slow nucleation rate and in facilitating the abundant growth of Ca(OH)2 nuclei on mZVI surface. The growth of shell thickness was found to obey the zero order kinetics with the rate constant at about 15nm/h. The Ca(OH)2 shell was demonstrated to be anticorrosive to protect reactive Fe0 from oxidation based on standard corrosion test. In addition, the instant aggregation process of mZVI within 120s was slowed down after Ca(OH)2 shell coating. The saturation magnetization of mZVI, measured by a vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM), was gradually diminished along with the shell formation with a 32% reduction after excluding the Fe0 content change effect. This indicated that Ca(OH)2 shell coating can partially eliminated particle-particle or cluster-cluster magnetic attraction force to enhance the dispersion stability and resultantly facilitate the transportation. The dissolution of Ca(OH)2 shell was greatly dependent on the pH value of the background water environment. The pH gradient change resulted from the Ca(OH)2 shell dissolution along mZVI particle transport was illustrated by a conceptual model.