Strongly prolonged hydroxyl radical production for Fenton-like reactions: The golden touch of Cu

Abstract Hydroxyl radicals are believed as the most reactive species in the Fenton-like reactions and perform well at the beginning stage of the reaction due to very short lifetime. A reaction system with strongly prolonged hydroxyl radical lifetime is rarely reported. Adding Cu ions, an unreactive catalyst for hydrogen peroxide activation, the Fe/Cu/CDBQ/H 2 O 2 system efficiently prolonged hydroxyl radical lifetime with two orders. This study found a strong, prolonged hydroxyl radical generation in a Fenton-like system using iron, copper ions and 2,5-dihydroxy-1,4-benzoquinone restricted in cyclodextrin (CDBQ). Meanwhile, rapid degradation and substantial mineralization of organics was achieved in this system. Further, the Cu ions could promote the efficiency of other Fenton-like system.