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Using Silica Coated Nanoscale Zerovalent Particles for the Reduction of Chlorinated Ethylenes

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Abstract

The impact of a silica coating on the degradation potential of nanoscale zerovalent iron (nZVI) particles toward a mixture of chlorinated ethylenes is presented. The newly employed stabilization method for nZVI, based on silica deposition from saturated sodium silicate water glass, produces nZVI particles with a similar reactivity as non-stabilized particles. Moreover the removal rate constant kM of trichloroethylene (0.1740 L g−1 d−1 Fe0) and cis-dichloroethylene (0.1045 L g−1 d−1Fe0) was significantly improved (almost by a factor of 2) for stabilized nZVI. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Wavelength Dispersive X-ray Fluorescence (WDXRF) analyzes revealed a high durability of silica coating and the coating left at least half of nZVI surface silica free for reaction for more than 5 weeks. The silica coating did not affect the surface composition of silica coated nZVI which was confirmed by the very similar distribution of degradation products and corrosion products (Fe3O4, FeOOH) as was found for non-coated nanoparticles. An enhanced reactivity supplemented with a stable corrosion properties indicates that silica coated nZVI has potential as an efficient remediation agent toward chlorinated ethylenes.

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Acknowledgements

This work was financially supported by the Technology Agency of the Czech Republic under grant TA02020654.

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  1. Milica Velimirovic

    Present address: Department of Environmental Geosciences, University of Vienna, Althanstrasse, 14, 1090, Vienna, Austria

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Chemistry, University of Chemistry and Technology Prague, Technická 5, 16628, Prague, Czech Republic

    Lenka Honetschlägerová, Petra Janouškovcová & Martin Kubal

  2. Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO), Boeretang 200, 2400, Mol, Belgium

    Milica Velimirovic & Leen Bastiaens

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  1. Lenka Honetschlägerová
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Correspondence to Lenka Honetschlägerová.

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Honetschlägerová, L., Janouškovcová, P., Velimirovic, M. et al. Using Silica Coated Nanoscale Zerovalent Particles for the Reduction of Chlorinated Ethylenes. Silicon 10, 2593–2601 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12633-018-9795-2

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