Mechanism for removing 2,4-dichlorophenol via adsorption and Fenton-like oxidation using iron-based nanoparticles

In this paper, iron-based nanoparticles (Fe NPs) synthesized by Euphorbia cochinchensis leaf extract were used to remove 2,4-dichlorophenol (2,4-DCP). The possible mechanism for removing the adsorption and heterogeneous Fenton-like oxidation of 2,4-DCP was investigated. Various parameters affecting removal efficiency were tested, and the results showed that more than 83.5% of 2,4-DCP was removed with the addition of 10 mM H2O2 and the initial concentration of 2,4-DCP of 30 mg/L at pH 6.26 under 303 K. To understand the suggested removal mechanism, SEM and FTIR were used to characterize the surface change of Fe NPs before and after the adsorption and oxidation. This process confirmed that the removal of 2,4-DCP by Fe NPs was based on pre-adsorption and Fenton-like oxidation. Furthermore, GC-MS served to identify the intermediate and final products of 2,4-DCP to understand the possible pathway. Finally, Fe NPs were used in the treatment of wastewater and the removal efficiency of 2,4-DCP reached as high as 67.5%. Subsequently, a potentially efficient option for in situ organic pollutants remediation was demonstrated.