Catalytic dechlorination of 2,4-dichlorophenol by Ni/Fe nanoparticles prepared in the presence of ultrasonic irradiation

•Nano-Ni/Fe were synthesized in the presence of ultrasonic irradiation.•Ultrasonic irradiation can improve nano-Ni/Fe′ disparity and avoid agglomeration.•2,4-DCP was first adsorbed by nano-Ni/Fe, then was quickly dechlorinated.•Factors of reductive dechlorination by nano-Ni/Fe were studied.

In this study, nickle/iron (Ni/Fe) nanoparticles were synthesized by liquid phase reductive method in the presence of 20 kHz ultrasonic irradiation to improve nanoparticles’ disparity and avoid agglomeration. The characterized results showed that this method has obviously modified most of the particles in term of sizes and specific surface areas. Meanwhile, the improved nanoscale Ni/Fe particles were employed for the reductive dechlorination of 2,4-dichlorophenol (2,4-DCP) as a function of some influential factors (Ni content, Ni/Fe nanoparticles dosage, reaction temperature and initial pH values) and degradation path. Experimental results showed that 2,4-DCP was first adsorbed by Ni/Fe nanoparticles, then quickly reduced to o-chlorophenol (o-CP), p-chlorophenol (p-CP), and finally to phenol (P). The application of ultrasonic irradiation for Ni/Fe nanoparticles synthesis was found to significantly enhance the removal efficiency of 2,4-DCP. Consequently, the phenol production rates increased from 68% (in the absence of ultrasonic irradiation) to 87% (in the presence of ultrasonic irradiation) within 180 min. Nearly 96% of 2,4-DCP was removed after 300 min reaction with these optimized conditions: Ni content over Fe0 3 wt%, initial 2,4-DCP concentration 20 mg L−1, Ni/Fe dosage 3 g L−1, initial pH value 3.0, and reaction temperature 25 °C. The degradation of 2,4-DCP followed pseudo-first-order kinetics reaction and the apparent pseudo-first-order kinetics constant was 0.0737 min−1. This study suggested that the presence of ultrasonic irradiation in the synthesis of nanoscale Ni/Fe particles could be a promising technique to enhance nanoparticle’s disparity and avoid agglomeration.