Synthesis of calcium peroxide nanoparticles as an innovative reagent for in situ chemical oxidation

Abstract Chemical oxidation is one of the many different methods of site remediation that has emerged lately as an alternative method to traditional techniques. According to this research calcium peroxide is suitable choice for contaminant biodegradation in soil and ground water but speed of oxidation reaction between calcium peroxide and contaminant is slow. Synthesis of calcium peroxide in nano size by increased ratio of surface to volume can increase the speed of reaction and solve the problem. We have developed a simple surface modification technique to avoid irreversible agglomeration of calcium peroxide nanoparticles. The technique is based on hydrolysis–precipitation procedure, using CaCl 2 as a precursor. Polyethylene glycol 200 (PEG200) is used as a surface modifier. CaO 2 was identified and studied by characterization techniques, including XRD and TEM. The results indicate the ability of this method for synthesis of new reagent in nano size and improve quality of in situ chemical oxidation. Size determination by TEM image indicates the size of calcium peroxide nanoparticles approximately 15–25 nm.