Metastable microstructures containing zero valent iron for fast degradation of azo dyes

A novel iron powder obtained by ball milling ribbons of a rapidly solidified cast iron was tested for azo dye degradation in aqueous solution versus commercial Fe and a Fe-based metallic glass powders. The cast iron powders were at least as efficient in promoting the degradation reaction of ethyl-orange and direct blue-6 as the ball-milled metallic glass: dyes decomposition was complete in about an hour. The efficiency of alloy samples increases as a function of the decrease of particles size and does not appear to be strongly due to the structure of the phase containing Fe. The main reason for catalytic efficiency is the presence of metastable phases in the material. The zero valent iron that they contain is more prone to provide electrons for the degradation of N–N double bonds. The starting material is cheap and the sample preparation is straightforward. Therefore, it is believed these samples are suitable for fast degradation at room temperature of azo dyes compared with metallic glasses recently proposed in the literature.