Catalytic reductive dechlorination of p-chlorophenol in water using Ni/Fe nanoscale particles

Nanoscale bimetallic Ni/Fe particles were synthesized from the reaction of sodium borohydride (NaBH4) with reduction of Ni2+ and Fe2+ in aqueous solution. The obtained Ni/Fe particles were characterized by TEM (transmission electron microscope), XRD (X-ray diffractometer), and N2-BET. The dechlorination activity of the Ni/Fe was investigated using p-chlorophenol (p-CP) as a probe agent. Results demonstrated that the nanoscale Ni/Fe could effectively dechlorinate p-CP at relatively low metal to solution ratio of 0.4 g/L (Ni 5 wt%). The target with initial concentration of p-CP 0.625 mmol/L was dechlorinted completely in 60 min under ambient temperature and pressure. Factors affecting dechlorination efficiency, including reaction temperature, pH, Ni loading percentage over Fe, and metal to solution ratio, were investigated. The possible mechanism of dechlorination of p-CP was proposed and discussed. The pseudo-first-order reaction took place on the surface of the Ni/Fe bimetallic particles, and the activation energy of the dechlorination reaction was determined to be 21.2 kJ/mol at the temperature rang of 287-313 K.