Porous Membranes Containing Zero-Valent Iron Nanorods for Water Treatment

摘要

Zero-valent iron has long been known to be very active for the deqjhlorination of chlorinated organics (1). Early studies showed the efficacy of granular iron for degradation of trichloroethylene (2,3). These studies showed that although the reduction was effective, the reaction was slow, and could result in significant formation of degradation by-products (3). Reducing the size of the iron particles to the nano-range has been very effective for increasing the rate of reaction, and subsequently reducing the formation of by-products (4). However, with increased activity came decreased material stability. Zero-valent iron nanoparticles are subject to oxidation in air and hydrolysis in water. In both cases, these reactions significantly reduce the efficiency of these materials for large-scale application. That is, how do you store the materials and keep them active until they are needed? In this work, composite, polymeric materials are formed containing zero-valent nanoparticles. The nanoparticles have been formed in-siru and ex-situ, although the final reduction reaction occurs in the membrane-phase. In this paper, the formation of porous membranes containing zero-valent iron nanorods is discussed, and preliminary results are given to demonstrate the promise of these materials for degradation of chlorinated organics.