Characterization and degradation mechanism of bimetallic iron-based/AC activated persulfate for PAHs-contaminated soil remediation

In this research, a novel iron based bimetallic nanoparticles (Fe–Ni) supported on activated carbon (AC) were synthesized and employed as an activator of persulfate in polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) polluted sites remediation. AC-supported Fe–Ni activator was prepared according to two-step reduction method: the liquid phase reduction and H2- reduction under high temperature (600 °C), which was defined as Fe–Ni/AC. Characterizations using micropore physisorption analyzer, X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM) showed that the synthetic material had large specific surface area, nano-size and carbon-encapsulated metal particles, moreover, the lattice fringes of metals were clearly defined. The PAH compound types and their concentrations were determined by gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS) with SIM mode, the method detection limit (MDL) was estimated to about 0.21 μg/kg for PAHs, and the average recovery of PAHs was 96.3%. Mechanisms of PAH oxidation degradation with the reaction system of Fe–Ni/AC activated persulfate were discussed, the results showed that short-life free radicals, such as SO4−·, OH·, and OOH· were generated simultaneously, which acted as strong oxidizing radicals, resulting in the oxidation and almost complete opening of the PAH rings.