Degradation of pentachlorophenol by nanoscale Fe and Ni/Fe particles

Pentachlorophenol (PCP), a notoriously recalcitrant and toxic organic contaminant, was investigated for its degradation with nanoscale Fe and Ni/Fe particles. Compared with the bare nano Fe, the bimetallic Ni/Fe nanoparticles exhibited much higher reactivity. The rate of PCP transformation can be described by pseudo first-order kinetics, and the apparent rate constants were calculated to be 0.04 and 1.19 h
^-1
with the nanoscale Fe and Ni/Fe, respectively. The enhanced performance of the bimetallic nanoparticles may be attributed to the increased of surface area, generation, storage and activation of hydrogen, and also unique nano- and subnano- scale structures formed on the nanoparticle surface.