Abstract
In this work, reactive iron nanoparticles dispersed in a carbon matrix were produced by the controlled thermal decomposition of Fe3+ ions in sucrose. During the sucrose decomposition, the Fe3+ ions are reduced to form iron nanometric cores dispersed in a porous carbonaceous matrix. The materials were prepared with iron contents of 1, 4, and 8 wt.% and heated at 400, 600, and 800 °C. Analyses by X-ray diffraction, Mössbauer spectroscopy, magnetization measurements, Raman spectroscopy, termogravimetric analyses, BET surface area, scanning, and transmission electron microscopy showed that at 400 °C, the materials are composed essentially of Fe3O4 particles, while treatments at higher temperatures, i.e., 600 and 800 °C, produced phases such as Fe0 and Fe3C. The composites were tested for the oxidation of methylene blue with H2O2 by a Fenton-type reaction and also H2O2 decomposition, showing better performance for the material containing 8 % of iron heated at 400 and 600 °C. These results are discussed in terms of Fe2+ surface species in the Fe3O4 nanoparticles active for the Fenton reaction.
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The authors thank the financial support of PRPq/UFMG, FAPEMIG, CNPq, and Fundep, and the UFMG Microscopy Center (http://www.microscopia.ufmg.br) for providing the equipment and technical support for the experiments involving electronic microscopy.
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Tristão, J.C., de Mendonça, F.G., Lago, R.M. et al. Controlled formation of reactive Fe particles dispersed in a carbon matrix active for the oxidation of aqueous contaminants with H2O2 . Environ Sci Pollut Res 22, 856–863 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-014-2554-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-014-2554-z