Water purification from chlorobenzenes using heteroatom-functionalized carbon nanofibers produced on self-organizing Ni-Pd catalyst

• Published in: Journal of environmental chemical engineering 2022-06, Vol.10 (3), p.107873, Article 107873
• Main Authors: Mishakov, Ilya V., Bauman, Yury I., Brzhezinskaya, Maria, Netskina, Olga V., Shubin, Yury V., Kibis, Lidiya S., Stoyanovskii, Vladimir O., Larionov, Kirill B., Serkova, Alexandra N., Vedyagin, Aleksey A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 1,2-dichloroethane; Chlorobenzene adsorption; Heteroatom-doped carbon nanofibers; Metal dusting; Nickel-based alloy; One-pot functionalization
• ISSN: 2213-3437; 2213-3437
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jece.2022.107873

The development of effective methods for the processing of hazardous wastes containing chlorinated hydrocarbons still remains a big challenge. Herein, the approach allowing the transformation of chlorohydrocarbons into functionalized carbon nanomaterials was demonstrated for 1,2-dichloroethane (DCE) used as a model compound. Carbon nanofibers (CNF) doped with nitrogen and oxygen heteroatoms were fabricated by a joint decomposition of DCE and co-reagent (CH3CN, NH4OH, C2H5OH, and H2O). The Ni-Pd (5%) alloy was used as a catalyst precursor for the CNF synthesis. Pristine Ni-Pd alloy was found to undergo disintegration under the reaction conditions and to induce an active growth of the functionalized carbon nanofibers. The obtained CNF were shown to have a similar segmental structure of carbon filaments and to possess high specific surface area (up to 470 m2/g) and porosity (up to 0.9 cm3/g). According to X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy data, the nitrogen content within CNF samples prepared using N-comprising precursors was about 1.0–1.7 at%. The total oxygen content reaches 3.6 at%. The obtained materials were demonstrated to be attractive for the dichlorobenzene adsorption from its aqueous solutions. [Display omitted] •Ni-Pd alloy was used as a catalyst’s precursor to synthesize the heteroatom-doped CNF.•CNF were synthesized by CCVD using C2H4Cl2 and N,O-containing co-reagents.•The effect of adding CH3CN, NH4OH, C2H5OH and H2O on CNF features was studied.•Co-reagent variation affected the structure disordering and the carbon yield.•The obtained CNF are prospective for water purification from chlorobenzenes.