Aerosol-assisted submicronγ-Fe2O3/C spheres as a promising heterogeneous Fenton-like catalyst for soil and groundwater remediation:Transport,adsorption and catalytic ability

摘要

This research reports a novel heterogeneous Fenton-like catalyst which could freely move through the model sediments and easily seize the pollutants in addition to efficiently catalyze H2O2,well suitable for soil and groundwater remediation.Herein,submicron y-Fe2O3/C spheres were synthesized through a facile one-step aerosol-based process.In a series of column tests,these spheres exhibit better transport ability due to their optimal size,conforming to the prediction by the Tufenkji-Elimelech filtration theo ry.Meanwhile,y-Fe2O3/C spheres could act as a strong adsorbent for organic pollutants owing to the presence of carbon,thereby providing a driving force to gather contaminants into their vicinity and facilitating the reaction.In addition,immobilization of y-Fe2O3 nanoparticles into carbon spheres protects iron oxides from aggregation,and thus retains the number of active sites for catalytic decomposition of H2O2.Hence,the system containing the as-prepared y-Fe2O3/C spheres and H2O2 shows the high removal efficiency and degradation efficiency in the remediation of recalcitrant organic contaminants such as methylene blue and sulfamethoxazole.