Effect of Fe0 content on the effectiveness of Fe0/Fe3O4 catalyst in Fenton process

In this study, two iron precursors (FeSO4 and FeCl3) were used for the synthesis of iron particles via a reduction reaction with KBH4. Detailed characterizations were carried out using X ray diffractometry, scanning electron microscopy and magnetic analysis. The results showed ferromagnetic submicron particles with different proportions of Fe degrees and Fe3O4. The particles were tested as catalysts for the discoloration of methyl orange (MO) in heterogeneous Fenton process. The results show that the nature of the precursor impacted the activity of the obtained product. In fact, 78.83 and 42.36 % of MO were discolored after 5 min of reaction in the presence of the catalysts synthesized with FeSO4 and FeCl3 respectively with H2O2 at 1 mM and 40 degrees C. Coupling ultrasounds with heterogeneous Fenton process reduced the time for total discoloration to 4 and 10 min with the same samples respectively. Regardless of the conditions used the sample synthesized with FeSO4 possessed the highest potential for MO discoloration.