A Zwitterionic Hydrogel‐Based Heterogeneous Fenton Catalyst for Water Treatment
Name
Small - 2024 - Gokhale - A Zwitterionic Hydrogel‐Based Heterogeneous Fenton Catalyst for Water Treatment.pdf
Description
Published version
Size
2.35 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
e361893390fae0d1b234fccdab768aa1
Author(s)
Gokhale, Devashish
Chen, Ian
Wu, Wan‐Ni
Monne Gagnaire, Arthur
Doyle, Patrick S
Date Issued
2024
Journal
Small
Publisher
Wiley
Citation
Gokhale, Devashish, Chen, Ian, Wu, Wan‐Ni, Monne Gagnaire, Arthur and Doyle, Patrick S. 2024. "A Zwitterionic Hydrogel‐Based Heterogeneous Fenton Catalyst for Water Treatment." Small, 20 (38).
Version
Final published version
Abstract
Persistent organic pollutants (POPs), including xenoestrogens and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), demand urgent global intervention. Fenton oxidation, catalyzed by iron ions, offers a cost-effective means to degrade POPs. However, numerous challenges like acid dependency, catalyst loss, and toxic waste generation hinder practical application. Efforts to create long-lasting heterogeneous Fenton catalysts, capable of simultaneously eliminating acid requirements, sustaining rapid kinetics, and retaining iron efficiently, have been unsuccessful. This study introduces an innovative heterogeneous zwitterionic hydrogel-based Fenton catalyst, surmounting these challenges in a cost-effective and scalable manner. The hydrogel, hosting individually complexed iron ions in a porous scaffold, exhibits substantial effective surface area and kinetics akin to homogeneous Fenton reactions. Complexed ions within the hydrogel can initiate Fenton degradation at neutral pH, eliminating acid additions. Simultaneously, the zwitterionic hydrogel scaffold, chosen for its resistance to Fenton oxidation, forms strong bonds with iron ions, enabling prolonged reuse. Diverging from existing designs, the catalyst proves compatible with UV-Fenton processes and achieves rapid self-regeneration during operation, offering a promising solution for the efficient and scalable degradation of POPs. The study underscores the efficacy of the approach by demonstrating the swift degradation of three significant contaminants—xenoestrogens, pesticides, and PFAS—across multiple cycles at trace concentrations.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Chemical Engineering
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Materials Science and Engineering
Terms of Use
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial
Persistent DSpace Link
DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1002/smll.202402525
