title: Graphene-supported nanoscale zero-valent iron: removal of phosphorus from aqueous solution and mechanistic study.
abstract: Excess phosphorus from non-point pollution sources is one of the key factors causing eutrophication in many lakes in China, so finding a cost-effective method to remove phosphorus from non-point pollution sources is very important for the health of the aqueous environment. Graphene was selected to support nanoscale zero-valent iron (nZVI) for phosphorus removal from synthetic rainwater runoff in this article. Compared with nZVI supported on other porous materials, graphene-supported nZVI (G-nZVI) could remove phosphorus more efficiently. The amount of nZVI in G-nZVI was an important factor in the removal of phosphorus by G-nZVI, and G-nZVI with 20 wt.% nZVI (20% G-nZVI) could remove phosphorus most efficiently. The nZVI was very stable and could disperse very well on graphene, as characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Fourier Transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and Raman spectroscopy were used to elucidate the reaction process, and the results indicated that Fe-O-P was formed after phosphorus was adsorbed by G-nZVI. The results obtained from X-ray diffraction (XRD) indicated that the reaction product between nZVI supported on graphene and phosphorus was Fe₃(PO₄)₂·8H₂O (Vivianite). It was confirmed that the specific reaction mechanism for the removal of phosphorus with nZVI or G-nZVI was mainly due to chemical reaction between nZVI and phosphorus.
authors.affiliation: State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control (SKLESPC), School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China.
authors.forename: Fenglin
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Chemical, Environmental and Biological Science and Technology, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116086, China.
authors.forename: JingHe
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control (SKLESPC), School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China. Electronic address: jiane.zuo@mail.tsinghua.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Jiane
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zuo
authors.affiliation: Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China.
authors.forename: Ding
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.affiliation: State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control (SKLESPC), School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China.
authors.forename: Lili
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Gan
authors.affiliation: State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control (SKLESPC), School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China.
authors.forename: Bangmi
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Xie
authors.affiliation: State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control (SKLESPC), School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China.
authors.forename: Pei
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control (SKLESPC), School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China.
authors.forename: Bo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Yang
mesh_terms: D000327:Adsorption; D006108:Graphite / Q000737:chemistry*; D007501:Iron / Q000737:chemistry*; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000737:chemistry*; D010758:Phosphorus / Q000737:chemistry*; D014867:Water / Q000737:chemistry*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical
chemical_list: D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D014867:Water; D010758:Phosphorus; D006108:Graphite; D007501:Iron
keywords: Graphene; Graphene-supported nZVI; Nanoscale zero valent iron; Phosphorus