Decontamination of Cr(VI) facilitated formation of persistent free radicals on rice husk derived biochar

Abstract

This study investigated the facilitation of Cr(VI) decontamination to the formation of persistent free radicals (PFRs) on rice husk derived biochar. It was found that Cr(VI) remediation by biochar facilitated the production of PFRs, which increased with the concentration of treated Cr(VI). However, excessive Cr(VI) would induce their decay. Biochar with high pyrolysis temperature possessed great performance to Cr(VI) removal, which was mainly originated from its reduction by biochar from Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectroscopy and X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy. And the corresponding generation of PFRs on biochar was primarily ascribed to the oxidization of phenolic hydroxyl groups by Cr(VI) from Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy analysis, which was further verified by the H2O2 treatment experiments. The findings of this study will help to illustrate the transformation of reactive functional groups on biochar and provide a new insight into the role of biochar in environmental remediation.