Activation of persulfate by stability-enhanced magnetic graphene oxide for the removal of 2,4-dichlorophenol.

A stability-enhanced magnetic catalyst, composed of α-FeO@FeO shell-core magnetic nanoparticles and graphene oxide (MGO), was prepared and characterized by scanning electron micrope (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM), and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET). Catalyst synthesis was used to efficiently activate persulfate for the removal of 2,4-dichlorophenol (2,4-DCP). A magnetic nanoparticle:GO mass ratio of 5 (MGO-5) exhibited a better catalytic efficiency and could be effectively reused four times. The influences of the pollutant, catalyst, and oxidant concentrations were investigated, and the intrinsic relationships among these factors and the degradation kinetic constant were evaluated by a fitting method. It was found that the catalytic degradation process in the MGO-5-persulfate-2,4-DCP system was most likely dominated by an interfacial catalytic reaction, with an activation energy of 13.88 kJ/mol. Radical quenching experiments and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) analysis indicated that both sulfate radicals (SO) and hydroxyl radicals (OH) were responsible for 2,4-DCP removal, but surface-bounded SO played a greater role. Chloride ions at a concentration of 0-60 mg/L had no effect on 2,4-DCP removal. The proposed advanced oxidation technology has potential applications for the practical removal of aqueous organic pollutants.