Use of ligand-based iron complexes for phenol degradation by fenton modified process

Abstract

The efficiency of phenol degradation by the iron complexes ([Fe(TBMA)Cl3?3H2O] and [Fe(terpy)Cl2]) is compared with that of the Fenton reaction. The results show that although the Fenton reaction efficiently oxidizes phenol at low pH's, the Fenton modified reagents (iron complexes/H2O2) effectively oxidize phenol at neutral pH. Besides, the factorial designing study is performed by considering three independent variables: (i) [Fe] (A), (ii) pH (B), and (iii) [H2O2] (C). For the Fenton reaction, the normal probability plot reveals that two factors, such as concentration of Fe2+ and interaction{[ H2O2pH} have considerable influence on the phenol oxidation; in the normal probability plot of the complexes, factors C (concentration of H2O2) and AC {[Fe].[ H2O2]} have an effect on the oxidation of the phenol by [Fe(terpy)Cl2]/ H2O2, while for [Fe(TBMA)Cl3.3H2O], factors B and AC significantly influence the degradation. Of both iron complexes, [Fe(TBMA)Cl3.3H2O]/ H2O2 is an excellent oxidant, showing a good response at pH 7.0. © 2013, Sociedad Química de Mexico.