A nano‐Fe⁰/ACF cathode applied to neutral electro‐Fenton degradation of Orange II

Abstract

Abstract BACKGROUND: To extend the working pH range of electro‐Fenton, activated carbon fibre cathode (ACF) supported nano‐Fe 0 catalysts were prepared by electo‐deposition and applied to treat a dye effluent in a neutral aqueous medium. The morphology of the Fe 0 /ACF cathode was characterized by X‐ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. The experimental conditions, such as the initial pH, dye concentration and current density of the degradation of the dye effluent were investigated. A pseudo‐first‐order model was used to simulate the experimental results. RESULTS: Compared with Fe 2+ and Fe 3+ , the degradation of Orange II solution by an Fe 0 /ACF cathode was shown to achieve much better results at neutral pH values. Additionally, the dissolved iron concentration in the solution was also evaluated. The results showed that 0.79 mg L −1 of total iron was present after 120 min reaction time at neutral pH, suggesting that the Fe 0 /ACF cathode can be used for a long time and is reusable under neutral pH conditions. A complete description of the possible degradation mechanism in solution is provided. CONCLUSION: The high catalytic activity of this cathode is probably due to the efficient electrotransfer at the Fe 0 /iron oxide interface. All this demonstrates that Fe 0 /ACF is a good and promising cathode for the neutral electro‐Fenton process. Copyright © 2010 Society of Chemical Industry