Chunjie Xia, Jia Liu
Jun 27, 2020
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Influential Citations
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Journal
Journal of Nanoparticle Research
Abstract
Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) is ubiquitous in the environment because of its wide applications in aqueous film forming foam, food packing, waterproof breathable fabrics, and Teflon products. Though it is resistant to biodegradation, photocatalytic degradation has been proven possible. In this study, zero-valent iron nanoparticles (Fe 0 NPs), with or without 1% polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) coating, were used for PFOA degradation under ultraviolet C (UVC) light for the first time. PFOA was degraded faster initially (e.g., < 13 h) with Fe 0 NPs than without Fe 0 NPs under UVC light. In addition, the degradation rate using Fe 0 NPs without coating was higher than that with 1% PVP coating in the initial 6 h, although the difference was diminished afterwards. Both Fe 2+ and Fe 3+ ions were detected during the process. Shorter-chain perfluorocarboxylic acids (PFCAs), i.e., PFHpA, PFHxA, PFPeA, and PFBA, were detected as main intermediates; fluoride ions (F − ) were also detected. Rapid consumption of Fe 3+ (plus the lower UV–vis absorption intensity observed for a mixture of PFOA and FeCl 3 compared to the intensity observed for FeCl 3 alone) indicated the possible formation of [C7F15COO-Fe] 2+ —a degradable complex. The UV/Fe 0 system is superior, with low toxicity of iron and no introduction of other chemicals. Additionally, the cost of Fe 0 NPs is low, and the recycle of Fe 0 NPs is easy from the treated water by their magnetic properties. The study provided an innovative, environment-friendly, and low-cost method for PFOA degradation by Fe 0 NPs under UVC light, which could be potentially applied for treatment of surface water and groundwater contaminated by PFOA.