Fluoride ion accelerating degradation of organic pollutants by Cu(II)-catalyzed Fenton-like reaction at wide pH range.

The degradation of rhodamine B in the F-/Cu(II)/H2O2 system was studied to evaluate the accelerating effect of F- on the Cu(II)-catalyzed Fenton-like reaction. Effects of various parameters, such as F-/Cu2+ ratio, F- and Cu2+ concentrations, initial pH, temperature, H2O2 and rhodamine B concentrations, were investigated. The results confirmed that there is a strong promoting effect of F- on the Cu(II)-catalyzed Fenton-like reaction in a wide pH range of 4-11. In the F-/Cu(II)/H2O2 system the dye could be degraded quickly, and H2O2 had a high utilization. A possible catalytical mechanism was proposed and CuF+ was assumed as the catalytically active species. CuF+ complexed with the OOH- produced by H2O2 dissociation and then rapidly decomposed to Cu(I), which reacted with H2O2 generating hydroxyl radical (HO·), the major reactive oxidizing species.