title: Enhanced dechlorination of trichloroethylene using electrospun polymer nanofibrous mats immobilized with iron/palladium bimetallic nanoparticles.
abstract: Fe/Pd bimetallic nanoparticles (NPs) have held great promise for treating trichloroethylene (TCE)-contaminated groundwater, without the accumulation of chlorinated intermediates. However, the conventionally used colloidal Fe/Pd NPs usually aggregate rapidly, resulting in a reduced reactivity. To reduce the particle aggregation, we employed electrospun polyacrylic acid (PAA)/polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) polymer nanofibers as a nanoreactor to immobilize Fe/Pd bimetallic NPs. In the study, the water-stable PAA/PVA nanofibrous mats were complexed with Fe (III) ions via the binding with the free carboxyl groups of PAA for subsequent formation and immobilization of zero-valent iron (ZVI) NPs. Fe/Pd bimetallic NPs were then formed by the partial reduction of Pd(II) ions with ZVI NPs. The formed electrospun nanofibrous mats containing Fe/Pd bimetallic NPs with a diameter of 2.8 nm were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, and inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectroscopy. The Fe/Pd NP-containing electrospun PAA/PVA nanofibrous mats exhibited higher reactivity than that of the ZVI NP-containing mats or colloidal Fe/Pd NPs in the dechlorination of trichloroethylene (TCE), which was used as a model contaminant. With the high surface area to volume ratio, high porosity, and great reusability of the fibrous mats immobilized with the bimetallic NPs, the composite nanofibrous mats should be amenable for applications in remediation of various environmental contaminants.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory for Modification of Chemical Fibers and Polymer Materials, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620, PR China.
authors.forename: Hui
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.forename: Yunpeng
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Mingwu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.forename: Rui
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.forename: Xueyan
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Cao
authors.forename: Xiangyang
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Shi
mesh_terms: D000180:Acrylic Resins / Q000737:chemistry; D002713:Chlorine / Q000737:chemistry; D052918:Environmental Restoration and Remediation / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D007501:Iron / Q000737:chemistry*; D053768:Metal Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D046529:Microscopy, Electron, Transmission; D057139:Nanofibers / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D010165:Palladium / Q000737:chemistry*; D011142:Polyvinyl Alcohol / Q000737:chemistry; D014241:Trichloroethylene / Q000737:chemistry*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D000180:Acrylic Resins; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D014241:Trichloroethylene; C006903:carbopol 940; D002713:Chlorine; D010165:Palladium; D011142:Polyvinyl Alcohol; D007501:Iron