Electron shuttling catalytic effect of mellitic acid in zero-valent iron induced oxidative degradation

Abstract

The enhanced oxidation capacity of zero-valent iron (ZVI) using mellitic acid (MA) as an electron shuttle catalyst was investigated using 4-chlorophenol (4-CP) as a model pollutant. In the presence of MA, enhanced electron transfer from ZVI surface to molecular oxygen resulted in higher production of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), which subsequently increased the effective concentration of hydroxyl radical (HO) generated through the Fenton-type reaction. The possible role of MA as an efficient electron shuttle was supported by cyclic voltammetric estimation of MA reduction potential (E0=−0.184VNHE) and corroborated with photocurrent measurements in the ZVI suspension. Control experiments using Fe(II) ions instead of ZVI demonstrated that the presence of MA in the Fe(II)/H2O2 homogeneous system had no significant effect on the 4-CP oxidation efficiency. This indicates that the formation of a Fe(II)-MA complex does not contribute to the 4-CP oxidation pathway. The primary role of MA in the ZVI/O2 system seems to mediate the electron transfer from the ZVI surface to dioxygen. It implies that organic species containing multiple carboxylic ligands (species like MA or its structural analogues) may function as an electron shuttle in the ZVI/O2 catalytic system.