Dechlorination mechanism of 2,4-dichlorophenol by Ni/Fe nanoparticles in the presence of humic acid

To understand the feasibility of its application to the in situ remediation of contaminated groundwater, the dechlorination of 2,4-dichlorophenol (2,4-DCP) by Ni/Fe nanoparticles in the presence of humic acid (HA) was investigated. We found that, as high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was used, the 2,4-DCP was first quickly reduced to o-chlorophenol (o-CP) and p-chlorophenol (p-CP), and then reduced to phenol as the final product. Our experimental results indicated that HA had an adverse effect on the dechlorination of 2,4-DCP by Ni/Fe nanoparticles, as the HA concentration increased, the removal rate decreased evidently. It also demonstrated that 2,4-DCP was reduced more easily to o-CP than to p-CP, and that the sequence of the tendency in dechlorination of intermediates was p-CP>o-CP. Transmission electron microscope (TEM) showed that HA could act as an adsorbate to compete reactive sites on the surface of Ni/Fe nanoparticles to decrease the dechlorination rate. Also we concluded that the dechlorination reaction of 2,4-DCP over Ni/Fe nanoparticles progressed through catalytic reductive dechlorination. Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 20407015) and the Program for New Century Excellent Talents in University (No. NCET-06-0525), China