Highly fast and efficient coupled Fe/Sn galvanic nanocatalyst with H2O2 Fenton-like process for synergistic reduction–oxidation of nitroaromatic compound

Abstract

Herein, the reinforced electron transfer ability of nano-galvanic Fe/Sn bimetallic particles deposited on talc for catalytic elimination of 2,4-dinitrotoluene (2,4-DNT) was investigated at different conditions. FESEM, XRD and FTIR characterization confirmed the successful and uniform formation of bimetallic galvanic particles on support. Ultrafast and intensified galvanic cell effects of bimetallic core-shell Fe/Sn nanoparticles enabled the nanocomposite to reach solely to 2,4-DNT removal efficiency of 91 % under the optimized condition. In addition, the synergistic combination of Fe/Sn galvanic nanocatalyst and H2O2 heterogeneous Fenton-like system, which took advantage of bimetallic Fe/Sn particles potential as viable adsorbent-reductant in pollution removal and effective source for generation of hydroxyl radicals, achieved 100 % 2,4-DNT removal within 10 min. The performance of this remediating process was evaluated under different nanocatalyst amount, pH, temperature, contaminant concentration, and H2O2 concentration. The removal process was in agreement with the pseudo-second-order kinetic model and the modified Langmuir isotherm model. Findings elucidated that the removal mechanism involved the electrostatic adsorption, galvanic oxidation–reduction and co-precipitation by nanocomposite, which was intensified by synergistic reaction of the hydroxyl radicals with pollutant. Overall, this study investigated the high potential of the combinational nZVI bimetallic galvanic nanoparticles and Fenton remediating processes, and the findings demonstrated the superior degradation capacity of the process as an innovative remediating approach.