Abstract
Degradation of halogenated organic compounds using nanoparticles is one of the innovative technologies in environmental remediation. In the present study, the synthesis, characterization and application of lepidocrocite (FeOOH) and magnetite (Fe(3)O(4)) nanoparticles for the remediation of water contaminated with carbon tetrachloride (CCl(4)) has been investigated. The synthesized nanoparticles were characterized by using advanced instrumental techniques such as field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The synthesized FeOOH and Fe(3)O(4) nanoparticles were found to have an average crystallite size of 10.94 nm and 18.10 nm, respectively. Batch degradation experiments for the degradation of CCl(4) were carried out separately using both of the above synthesized nanoparticles. The degradation reactions were found to be first-order while using Fe(3)O(4) and second-order while using FeOOH nanoparticles. Moreover, the reactivity of freshly synthesized Fe(3)O(4) nanoparticles was found to be much higher than that of FeOOH nanoparticles.