Multi-phase nanocrystallization induced fast degradation of methyl orange by annealing Fe-based amorphous ribbons

Different from the common understanding that crystallization deteriorates the degradation capability of amorphous alloys, we show here that the Fe-based multi-phase nanocrystalline ribbons (Fe-MNRs) exhibit 3 and 17 times higher degradation rate than its amorphous counterpart and the conventional zero valent iron powders, respectively. The formation of multi-phase nanocrystals and nanoporous structure resulted from selective corrosion during degradation is responsible for the high degradation capability of Fe-MNRs. The present results suggest that suitable nano-crystallization annealing treatment could be a novel approach to enhance the degradation capability of Fe-based amorphous alloys.