Rapid removal of copper from wastewater by Fe-based amorphous alloy

Abstract Fe-based amorphous alloys have been proved to exhibit excellent degradation properties for the removal of copper ions from simulated wastewater. Compared with crystalline iron, amorphous alloy has higher removal efficiency, lower reaction activation energy and high corrosion current density owing to its unique surface mobility. The copper ion can be reduced to less than 0.5 or 1 ppm at different initial concentrations. Even at a lower concentration of copper ions, it also exhibits better performance. In comparison, the concentration of the copper ion would be higher than the prescribed discharge standard if the wastewater was treated by crystalline iron. This work provides a potential application of Fe - based amorphous in the removal of heavy metal ions from wastewater.