Catalytic Reaction Intensification by a Novel Cryogenic Auxiliary Synthesized Fe-PAN Membrane

To solve the contradiction between the stability and activity of the catalytic membrane and achieve process intensification during the catalytic reaction, a novel porous Fe-polyacrylonitrile (PAN) membrane was synthesized by a one-step cryogenic auxiliary electrospinning method and tested for catalytic wet peroxide oxidation (CWPO). During synthesis, nanometals can be evenly entrapped in the PAN fiber and the porous fibrous structure can be formed simultaneously. Fe-PAN showed extraordinary catalytic activity and excellent stability and strongly strengthened the reaction due to the reduced diffusion resistance and high contact efficiency between nanoscale zerovalent iron and reactants. The reaction intensification mechanism of CWPO over Fe-PAN was experimentally and theoretically revealed by the intermediate detection and DFT calculation. The electronic attraction interaction and nucleophilic attack of the oxidative radicals occurred during pollutant degradation. This study reveals the excellent intensification property of Fe-PAN in the catalytic reaction and its potential in practical industrial application.