Investigation of carbon tetrachloride destruction by copper acetate

Halogenated synthetic organic compounds are used in a wide variety of pesticides, solvents, refrigerants, fire retardants, and paints that cause extensive pollution to the air, surface water, groundwater, and soils. Carbon tetrachloride (CCl) is a typical halogenated synthetic organic compound that has been suspected to be toxic and carcinogenic and to cause ozone depletion. In the present work, molecular-level destruction of CCl by copper acetate was investigated by extended X-ray absorption fine structural spectra, X-ray absorption near-edge spectra, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction spectroscopy. Experimentally, the Cl species dissociated from CCl were abstracted by copper species and formed CuCl. At 473 to 533 K, reaction products (copper chloride) aggregated on the surfaces of CuO, which might cause the obstruction of further CCl destruction. Due to the insertion of Cl species into the matrix of CuO, the bond distances of Cu-O and Cu-(O)-Cu were increased by 0.3 to 0.4 Å and 0.3 to 0.6 Å, respectively. However, at 603 K, because 79.5% of the Cu was in the CCl destruction solid products, the coordination number of Cu-(O)-Cu increased to 5.6. Molecular level investigations are a key to identifying the mechanisms of the CCl destruction process. In addition, identification of the molecular characteristics of the products may help in safe disposal of the toxic substances. The success of this study paved the way for the destruction of halogenated organic compounds by copper acetate.