A novel composite Fe-N/O catalyst for the effective enhancement of oxidative capacity of persulfate at ambient temperature

- A novel composite Fe-N/O greatly enhanced the oxidative capacity of persulfate.
- The ratio of Fe to melamine was optimized for AR 73 degradation by persulfate.
- The interface of Fe3N and Fe3O4 might be active center for activating persulfate.
- The dominant growth planes of Crystal of composite Fe-N/O affected its activity.

This study reports on the synthesis of a novel composite Fe-N/O catalyst for the enhancement of oxidative capacity of persulfate at ambient temperature. The fabricated composite was characterized by XRD, FTIR and TEM techniques. Results showed that the composite Fe-N/O catalyst consist of Fe3N and Fe3O4 crystal phases. The performance of Fe-N/O in the oxidation of Acid Red 73 (AR 73) by persulfate was investigated and it was found that the decolorization efficiency and total organic carbon removal (TOC) were 96% and 72.5% in 10 min at 22 °C, respectively. It was concluded that the interface between the Fe3N and Fe3O4 phases might account for the high efficiency observed.