Performance and influencing mechanisms of magnetically separable Ni-M layered double hydroxides (M = Fe, Al) for catalytic ozonation

From a preliminary performance comparison of several layered double hydroxides (LDHs), magnetically separable Ni-M LDHs (M = Fe, Al) were synthesized and applied as efficient ozonation catalysts for degrading dye Rhodamine B (RhB). As proved by various characterizations, the micromorphology, nanostructure size, and porous feature of the synthesized Ni-M LDHs significantly varied with different metal components. Among them, Ni 3 -Fe LDH and Ni 2 -Al LDH possessed a relatively larger specific surface area to react with O 3 interfacially, thereby exhibiting excellent catalytic ozonation performance. The RhB was almost completely degraded within 60 min, and the removal efficiencies of COD and TOC reached above 70% and 50%, respectively. The effects of catalyst dosage, initial dye concentration, solution pH, and coexisting inorganic anions on RhB degradation were studied systematically. ESR measurements and radical quenching experiments indicated that OH , O 2 − , and 1 O 2 are primary reactive oxygen species (ROS), while 1 O 2 induced the most dominant degradation contribution. According to the variations of ROS formation and material properties during the catalytic ozonation process, the possible reaction mechanisms were proposed. Moreover, the differences involved in the redox of multivalent metals and the transformation of surface hydroxyls over Ni-Fe and Ni-Al LDHs were further revealed.