Engineered nanoscale schwertmannites as Fenton–like catalysts for highly efficient degradation of nitrophenols

Highlights: • Uniform nanoscale schwertmannites (nano-SCH) were prepared via PVP assisted pathway. • Nano-SCH was applied as efficient Fenton–like catalysts at various conditions. • Hydroxyl radicals were dominant active species for nitrophenol degradation. The Fenton process has been considered as one of the most promising advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) for the treatment of persistent organic pollutants (POPs). Herein, engineered nanoscale schwertmannite (nano–SCH) were fabricated from a PVP (polyvinylpyrrolidone) assisted room–temperature synthesis. The as–prepared well–dispersed nano–SCH materials were further studied as Fenton–like catalysts for 4–nitrophenol (4–NP) degradation in the presence of H₂O₂. Results showed that the optimized nano–SCH–0.125 was able to degrade 91.0% of 4–NP in 60 min at 298 K, thanks to the nanoscale and hierarchical surface structures that provided abundant reactive sites at solid/solution interfaces. Moreover, mechanism study indicated that • OH radicals were the main reactive species responsible for the excellent 4–NP degradation performances during the Fenton–like processes. This work thus provides a viable pathway to engineer nanoscale materials with enhanced catalytic properties in oxidative degradation of environmental pollutants.