Persulfate activation by iron oxide-immobilized MnO2 composite: Identification of iron oxide and the optimum pH for degradations

•Iron oxide was successfully immobilized on the surface of MnO2.•XRD indicated that immobilized iron oxide was MnFe2O4, Fe3O4, γ-Fe2O3, and Fe1−yO.•XPS identified that the oxidation state of the immobilized iron was 1.74.•Both CT and benzene were effectively degraded at pH 9 in PS/composite system.•Degradation rates of benzene were faster than those of CT.

Iron oxide-immobilized manganese oxide (MnO2) composite was prepared and the reactivity of persulfate (PS) with the composite as activator was investigated for degradation of carbon tetrachloride and benzene at various pH levels. Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area of the composite was similar to that of pure MnO2 while the pore volume and diameter of composite was larger than those of MnO2. Scanning electron microscopy couples with energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) showed that Fe and Mn were detected on the surface of the composite, and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis indicated the possibilities of the existence of various iron oxides on the composite surface. Furthermore, the analyses of X-ray photoelectron (XPS) spectra revealed that the oxidation state of iron was identified as 1.74. In PS/composite system, the same pH for the highest degradation rates of both carbon tetrachloride and benzene were observed and the value of pH was 9. Scavenger test was suggested that both oxidants (i.e. hydroxyl radical, sulfate radical) and reductant (i.e. superoxide anion) were effectively produced when PS was activated with the iron-immobilized MnO2.