Accelerating the Fenton Reaction with a Magnetic Microswarm for Enhanced Water Remediation

The Fenton reaction, among one of the advanced oxidation processes, has been widely employed for water remediation. Here, we report using magnetic Fe3O4 nanoparticles to accelerate the degradation of the simulative organic pollutant (i. e., Rhodamine B) in a collective manner, featuring an enhanced Fenton reaction. Fe2+ ions released from Fe3O4 nanoparticles function as a reducing agent to trigger the Fenton reaction in an acidic environment. A large number of Fe3O4 nanoparticles form the microswarm by applying a rotating magnetic field, which would further improve the intermixing and reaction diffusion as a result of the hydrodynamic vortex created by magnetic chains. Moreover, the microswarm possesses the ability of targeted degradation achieved by the collective locomotion, and such a collective manner would ultimately avoid the loss of Fe3O4 nanoparticles during the whole process. Besides, Fe3O4 nanoparticles can be magnetically collected and rinsed for recycling use, with a retained dye degradation rate of 73.5% after 3 degradation cycles. As a result, the magnetic microswarm holds advantages in terms of low cost, enhanced degradation, recyclability, and targeted decontamination, which is promising for the removal of organic pollutants.

Automated summary

The magnetic Fe3O4 nanoparticles can accelerate the degradation of organic pollutants by forming microswarm, which improves mixing and reaction diffusion. The microswarm has targeted degradation capability and can be recycled for further use, showcasing advantages in terms of enhanced degradation and recyclability.