Fenton-like chain reactions by coupling nanoscale tungsten powders and peroxydisulfate: Performance and mechanistic insights

In this study, Fenton-like chain reaction is constructed by coupling nanoscale tungsten powders (nW 0 ) and peroxydisulfate (PDS). The nanoscale tungsten powders/peroxydisulfate (nW 0 /PDS) system exhibits a high oxidation efficiency toward diverse pollutants and expands the effective pH range up to 9.8. Results reveal • OH and sulfate radical (SO 4 •− ) were confirmed to be responsible for 4,4′-ethylidenebisphenol (EBP) degradation, especially • OH. The corrosion process of nW 0 results in the in-situ production of H 2 O 2 and the transient-state tungsten species (W (x, x < VI)), initiating the reaction of H 2 O 2 and tungsten species to generate • OH. PDS can accelerate nW 0 corrosion to enhance the Fenton-like reaction, and can be activated by tungsten species (nW 0 and W (x, x < VI)) to produce • OH and SO 4 •− . Integrated the analysis results of LC-QTOF-MS/MS, EBP degradation pathways were proposed. This study reveals the high oxidation efficiency over a wide pH range in the nW 0 /PDS system and provides new insight into the tungsten species induced Fenton-like reaction.