Cation-π induced surface cleavage of organic pollutants with ⋅OH formation from H2O for water treatment
Yumeng Wang,
Lai Lyu,
Di Wang,
Han-Qing Yu,
Tong Li,
Yaowen Gao,
Fan Li,
John C. Crittenden,
Lili Zhang,
Chun Hu
Affiliations
Yumeng Wang
Key Laboratory for Water Quality and Conservation of the Pearl River Delta, Ministry of Education, Institute of Environmental Research at Greater Bay, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, China
Lai Lyu
Key Laboratory for Water Quality and Conservation of the Pearl River Delta, Ministry of Education, Institute of Environmental Research at Greater Bay, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, China
Di Wang
Key Laboratory for Water Quality and Conservation of the Pearl River Delta, Ministry of Education, Institute of Environmental Research at Greater Bay, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, China
Han-Qing Yu
CAS Key Laboratory of Urban Pollutant Conversion, Department of Applied Chemistry, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
Tong Li
Key Laboratory for Water Quality and Conservation of the Pearl River Delta, Ministry of Education, Institute of Environmental Research at Greater Bay, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, China
Yaowen Gao
Key Laboratory for Water Quality and Conservation of the Pearl River Delta, Ministry of Education, Institute of Environmental Research at Greater Bay, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, China
Fan Li
Key Laboratory for Water Quality and Conservation of the Pearl River Delta, Ministry of Education, Institute of Environmental Research at Greater Bay, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, China
John C. Crittenden
Brook Byers Institute for Sustainable Systems, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA
Lili Zhang
Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China
Chun Hu
Key Laboratory for Water Quality and Conservation of the Pearl River Delta, Ministry of Education, Institute of Environmental Research at Greater Bay, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, China; Corresponding author
Summary: High energy consumption is impedimental for eliminating refractory organic pollutants in water by applying advanced oxidation processes (AOPs). Herein, we develop a novel process for destructing these organics in chemical conjuncted Fe0-FeyCz/Fex, graphited ZIF-8, and rGO air-saturated aqueous suspension without additional energy. In this process, a strong Fe-π interaction occurs on the composite surface, causing the surface potential energy ∼310.97 to 663.96 kJ/mol. The electrons for the adsorbed group of pollutants are found to delocalize to around the iron species and could be trapped by O2 in aqueous suspension, producing ⋅OH, H, and adsorbed organic cation radicals, which are hydrolyzed or hydrogenated to intermediate. The target pollutants undergo surface cleavage and convert H2O to ⋅OH, consuming chemical adsorption energy (∼2.852–9.793 kJ/mol), much lower than that of AOPs. Our findings provide a novel technology for water purification and bring new insights into pollutant oxidation chemistry.
