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

iScience (Aug 2021)

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

Journal volume & issue: Vol. 24, no. 8
p. 102874

Abstract

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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.

Published in iScience

ISSN: 2589-0042 (Online)
Publisher: Elsevier
Country of publisher: United States
LCC subjects: Science
Website: http://www.cell.com/iscience/home

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