Sulfidated microscale zero-valent iron/reduced graphene oxide composite (S-mZVI/rGO) for enhanced degradation of trichloroethylene: The role of hydrogen spillover

Atomic hydrogen (H*) has long been thought to play an important role in the dechlorination of trichloroethylene (TCE) by carbon-supported zero-valent iron (ZVI), which offers an alternative pathway for TCE dechlorination. Herein, we demonstrate that the reductive dechlorination of TCE by sulfidated microscale ZVI (S-mZVI) can be further enhanced by promoting the formation of H* through the introduction of reduced graphene oxide (rGO). The completely degradation of 10 mg/L TCE can be achieved by S-mZVI/rGO within 24 h, which was 3.3 times faster than that of S-mZVI. The change in the distribution of TCE degradation products over time suggests that the introduction of rGO leads to a change in the dechlorination pathway. The percentage of ethane in the final products of TCE degradation by S-mZVI/rGO was 34.3 %, while that of S-mZVI was only 21.9 %. The electrochemical tests confirmed the occurrence of hydrogen spillover in the S-mZVI/rGO composite, which promoted the reductive dechlorination of TCE by H*. Although the S-mZVI/rGO composite had stronger hydrogen evolution propensity than S-mZVI, the S-mZVI/rGO composite still exhibited higher electron utilization efficiency than S-mZVI thanks to the increased utilization of hydrogen.

Automated summary

In this study, the reductive dechlorination of trichloroethylene (TCE) by sulfidated microscale zero-valent iron (S-mZVI) was enhanced by promoting the formation of atomic hydrogen (H*) through the introduction of reduced graphene oxide (rGO). The addition of rGO changed the dechlorination pathway and resulted in faster degradation of TCE and a different distribution of degradation products. The electrochemical tests confirmed the occurrence of hydrogen spillover in the S-mZVI/rGO composite, which promoted the reductive dechlorination of TCE by H*.