Catalytic dechlorination of 2,4-dichlorophenol by Pd/Fe bimetallic nanoparticles in the presence of humic acid

Pd/Fe bimetallic nanoparticles were synthesized for treatment of 2,4-dichlorophenol (2,4-DCP) in the presence of humic acid (HA), in order to understand their applicability for in situ remediation of ground-water. In this case, 2,4-DCP was catalytically dechlorinated to form the final products - phenol (P) via two intermediates, namely o-chlorophenol (o-CP) and p-chlorophenol (p-CP). We demonstrated that the carbon mass balances during the dechlorination were in the range of 82-91%, and other carbons were absorbed on the surface of Pd/Fe bimetallic nanoparticles. Our results suggest the dechlorination reaction of 2,4-DCP by Pd/Fe bimetallic nanoparticles in the presence of HA followed pseudo-first-order kinetics. HA competed for reaction sites on the Pd/Fe bimetallic nanoparticles with 2,4-DCP, and thus reduced the efficiency and rate of the dechlorination of 2,4-DCP. Efficiencies of dechlorination and phenol formations increased significantly as the Pd content increased from 0.10 wt.%, 0.15 wt.% to 0.20 wt.%, the removal percentage of 2,4-DCP increased from 70.4%, 98.4% to 99.4% within 300 min, respectively, the nitrate (NO3-) content in water also has a significant impact on 2,4-DCP dechlorination efficiency. Our results show that no other intermediates were generated besides Cl-, o-CP, p-CP and phenol during the catalytic dechlorination of 2,4-DCP. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.