Carbon zero-valent iron materials possessing high-content fine Fe0 nanoparticles with enhanced microelectrolysis-Fenton-like catalytic performance for water purification

Carbon-coated nanoscale zero-valent iron ([email protected]) is a robust active material in wastewater treatment. Small particle size and high content of zero valent iron nanoparticles (Fe° NPs) in [email protected] composites ensure their desired activity in Fenton-like reaction. We mechanochemically prepared Fe-ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (Fe-EDTA), Fe-aminoterephthalic acid (Fe-ATA), and Fe-melamine (Fe-MA) complex as starting materials to synthesize [email protected] The coordination ability between iron and ligands determines the particle size and distribution of Fe NPs. [email protected] derived from Fe-EDTA possessed 97.6 % of Fe° NPs (4 nm-in-diameter), exhibited strong catalytic ability for sulfamethazine removal with and without the addition of H2O2, but also encountered serious erosion and poor reusability. [email protected] generated from Fe-ATA manifested reasonable activity and excellent stability and reusability in Fenton-like reaction, which was contributed by the suitable particle size (6 nm) and special topological structure. [email protected] produced from Fe-MA exhibited bad catalytic performance and reusability due to its larger Fe NPs size (300 nm).