Reduction of Nitrobenzene in Water by Nanoscale Ni/Fe Catalyst

Nanoscale Ni/Fe prepared in the laboratory was employed to reduce nitrobenzene in water.The reduction pathway of nitrobenzene was discussed.The effects of solution pH,Ni/Fe dosage and Ni content on reduction efficiencies of nitrobenzene were investigated.The results showed that the synergism of adsorption and reduction caused the removal of nitrobenzene.The contribution of adsorption and reduction to removal of nitrobenzene is 33.7% and 66.3%,respectively.Nitrobenzene can be reduced to aniline and the intermediate product nitrosobenzene,and nitrosobenzene can soon be reduced to the end product aniline.The yield of aniline decreases with the rise in pH and increases with the nanoscale Ni/Fe dosage.Increasing Ni content can be useful to reduce nitrobenzene to aniline,but superfluous Ni can decrease the yield of aniline.The optimum content of nickle is 1.85%.The reduction of nitrobenzene catalyzed by nanoscale Ni/Fe follows the first-order reaction kinetics.The reaction rate constant is 0.0226 min~(-1).