Synergistic catalytic effect of iron metallic glass particles in direct blue dye degradation
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Venugopal Bandi Department of Chemistry, University of North Texas, Denton, Texas 76203, USA
Harpreet Singh Arora, Medha Veligatla, and Seth Garrison Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of North Texas, Denton, Texas 76203, USA
Francis D’Souza Department of Chemistry, University of North Texas, Denton, Texas 76203, USA
Sundeep Mukherjeea) Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of North Texas, Denton, Texas 76203, USA (Received 3 November 2014; accepted 17 March 2015)
We report on the high catalytic activity of iron based metallic glass (MG) particles in dissociating direct blue dye (C32H20N6Na4O14S4) (DBD), a toxic water pollutant. We adopted high speed mechanical milling to activate the FeMG particles (of nominal composition Fe48Cr15Mo14Y2C15B6) and optimized the morphology and the particle size to achieve complete degradation of DBD in less than 20 min. The surface morphology and the particle size of the activated particles were characterized using scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. They were found to have corrugated edge like catalytically active surfaces after mechanical activation. The dye degradation rate of the activated MG powder was characterized via UV–visible absorption spectroscopy. The rate of dye degradation was significantly faster for the activated particles (within 20 min), compared to both pristine FeMG particles as well as elemental iron particles. In addition, the dye degradation mechanism was studied using Raman and infrared spectroscopy. The catalytically activated surfaces are believed to break the –C–H–, –C–N–, and –N5N– bonds, resulting in complete degradation of DBD.
I. INTRODUCTION
Direct blue dye (DBD) is a popular colorant used in textile and other industries.1,2 However, it is known to be a toxic water pollutant, which is an alarming threat to the natural water resources.3–5 Transition metals including Fe and noble metals have been used to degrade and detoxify different organic water pollutants, including DBD.6,7 Zero-valent transition metals, such as Fe, are specifically attractive in this regard owing to their excellent catalytic properties toward dissociating different organic chemicals,6,8–11 low cost, and abundance. However, pure Fe needs rigorous processing to perform efficiently in catalytic decomposition reactions under ambient conditions. Furthermore, the poor durability and toxic reaction by-products (e.g., rust, Fe2O3nH2O) restrict the use of pure Fe for the dissociation of organic chemicals in an aqueous medium.6 Although noble metals exhibit excellent
Contributing Editor: Xiaobo Chen a) Address all correspondence to this author. e-mail: [email protected] DOI: 10.1557/jmr.2015.90 J. Mater. Res., Vol. 30, No. 8, Apr 28, 2015
catalytic activity, their high cost limits their application as water purifier.7 Thus, there is a critical need for finding efficient, low cost, and durable catalyst, to detoxify water and remove harmful organic chemicals. Metallic glasses are metastable amorphous mult
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