Novel zero-valent Co-Fe encapsulated in nitrogen-doped porous carbon nanocomposites derived from CoFe2O4@ZIF-67 for boosting 4-chlorophenol removal via coupling peroxymonosulfate

Yanbo Zhou; Yongli Zhang; Xiaomin Hu

doi:10.1016/j.jcis.2020.04.024

Novel zero-valent Co-Fe encapsulated in nitrogen-doped porous carbon nanocomposites derived from CoFe₂O₄@ZIF-67 for boosting 4-chlorophenol removal via coupling peroxymonosulfate

J Colloid Interface Sci. 2020 Sep 1:575:206-219. doi: 10.1016/j.jcis.2020.04.024. Epub 2020 Apr 13.

Authors

Yanbo Zhou¹, Yongli Zhang², Xiaomin Hu³

Affiliations

¹ School of Resources and Civil Engineering, Northeastern University, Shenyang 110819, China.
² School of Environment and Chemical Engineering, Foshan University, Foshan 528000, China. Electronic address: yongli1929@fosu.edu.cn.
³ School of Resources and Civil Engineering, Northeastern University, Shenyang 110819, China. Electronic address: hxmin_jj@163.com.

PMID: 32361237
DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2020.04.024

Abstract

Environment-friendly treatment process relies on the robustness, durability, and performance of catalysts to drive the development of cutting-edge sustainable technologies for the elimination of refractory contaminants. Herein, nanocomposites prepared from zero-valent Co-Fe encapsulated in nitrogen-containing carbon (NC) nanoparticles (CFNC-30 NPs) derived from CoFe₂O₄@zeolitic imidazolate frameworks-67 were successfully prepared through pyrolysis integrated with self-reduction, and further utilized as the novel catalysts to degrade 4-chlorophenol (4-CP) by coupling with peroxymonosulfate (PMS). Three optimized parameters (CFNC-30 NPs dosage of 0.089 g L^-1, PMS concentration of 1.1 g L^-1, and initial pH of 6.6) were obtained via response surface methodology by using the Box-Behnken design model. Benefiting from the larger specific surface area, pore-volume, and existence of abundant hydroxyl groups, CFNC-30 NPs with more available active sites exhibited an excellent efficiency of 99.1% toward catalytic degradation of 4-CP within 30 min under the optimal conditions. Moreover, CFNC-30 NPs demonstrated durability and long-term stability even during the five consecutive cycle tests without a significant drop in its catalytic performance. The scavenging experiments and electron paramagnetic resonance technologies revealed that non-radical singlet oxygen (¹O₂), sulfate radicals (SO₄^-), and hydroxyl radicals (HO) were involved as active species in the CFNC-30/PMS system, contributing 46.8, 35.6, and 17.6% efficiency toward 4-CP degradation, respectively. Besides, the reaction mechanism on the CFNC-30 NPs and degradation pathways toward 4-CP were speculated under PMS activation. The results indicated that the synergistic effects between zero-valent Co-Fe and NC structures not only significantly boosted the removal efficiency and long-term stability of CFNC-30 NPs, but also facilitated the redox cycles of Co³⁺/Co²⁺ and Fe³⁺/Fe²⁺. This proof-of-concept approach to develop such high-efficient zero-valent Co-Fe encapsulated in NC structures opens up novel avenues for wastewater decontamination via PMS activation.

Keywords: Peroxymonosulfate; Singlet oxygen; Sulfate radical; ZIF-67; Zero-valent Co–Fe.