Characterization of nanoscale iron and its degradation of 2,4-dichlorophenol

Nanoscale iron was detected by TEM, X-ray diffraction and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. It was found that the size of the nanoscale iron particles is in the range of 30-40 nm according to TEM image, and it contains abundant Fe3O4 as passivating layers on the surface of the core-shell structure. To improve its performance, dilute HCl was used for the removal of the passivating layers, and the degradation of 2,4-dichlorophenol (2,4-DCP) was measured for the nanoscale iron samples treated and untreated. Experimental results demonstrated that the removal of 2,4-DCP by untreated nanoscale iron is mainly due to the adsorption of 2, 4-DCP by nanoscale iron, and there are no degradation products detected by HPLC in the process. However, excellent dechlorination of 2,4-DCP was gained by HCl-treated nanoscale iron, and 2-chlorophenol, 4-chlorophenol and phenol were detected during the process. It was concluded that dechlorination is the key reaction pathway for the degradation of 2,4-DCP by activated nanoscale iron, and phenol is found to be the main product.