Mn(2+)-mediated homogeneous Fenton-like reaction of Fe(III)-NTA complex for efficient degradation of organic contaminants under neutral conditions.

In this work, we report a novel Mn(2+)-mediated Fenton-like process based on Fe(III)-NTA complex that is super-efficient at circumneutral pH range. Kinetics experiments showed that the presence of Mn(2+) significantly enhanced the effectiveness of Fe(III)-NTA complex catalyzed Fenton-like reaction. The degradation rate constant of crotamiton (CRMT), a model compound, by the Fe(III)- NTA_Mn(2+) Fenton-like process was at least 1.6 orders of magnitude larger than that in the absence of Mn(2+). Other metal ions such as Ca(2+), Mg(2+), Co(2+) and Cu(2+) had no impacts or little inhibitory effect on the Fe(III)-NTA complex catalyzed Fenton-like reaction. The generation of hydroxyl radical (HO) and superoxide radical anion (O2(-)) in the Fe(III)-NTA_Mn(2+) Fenton-like process were suggested by radicals scavenging experiments. The degradation efficiency of CRMT was inhibited significantly (approximately 92%) by the addition of HO scavenger 2-propanol, while the addition of O2(-) scavenger chloroform resulted in 68% inhibition. Moreover, the results showed that other chelating agents such as EDTA- and s,s-EDDS-Fe(III) catalyzed Fenton-like reactions were also enhanced significantly by the presence of Mn(2+). The mechanism involves an enhanced generation of O2(-) from the reactions of Mn(2+)-chelates with H2O2, indirectly promoting the generation of HO by accelerating the reduction rate of Fe(III)-chelates to Fe(II)- chelates.