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Electron-Localized Active Sites Enable Sustainable 1,2-DCA Dechlorination to Ethylene by Zero-Valent Iron

Li Gong et al.

Environmental Science & Technology2026https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.5c15884article
AJG 3
Weight
0.41

What the paper says

The reductive transformation of persistent halogenated alkanes, such as 1,2-dichloroethane (1,2-DCA), presents a long-standing challenge. Achieving rapid cleavage of the inert C-Cl bond of 1,2-DCA requires forceful electron transfer, but this often accelerates competing hydrogen evolution and ethylene overhydrogenation, undermining the electron efficiency, product selectivity, and long-term stability. Here, we report a mechanochemically engineered zero-valent iron (ZVI) functionalized with electron-localized O-CoN4 sites that reconciles this conflict of interest, using cobalt tetramethoxyphenylporphyrin as the Co precursor. This architecture maximizes the utilization of Co atoms, resulting in a Co-normalized dechlorination rate 2 to 40 times superior to those of reported benchmarked ZVIs. Spectroscopic and computational analyses reveal that electron accumulation at the Co center reduces the C-Cl bond cleavage barrier while creating proton-limited microenvironments that suppress hydrogen evolution and stabilize ethylene against further reduction. Consequently, the material achieves a 144-fold improvement in electron efficiency and a 65-fold enhancement in ethylene selectivity compared to pristine ZVI. Crucially, the system maintained activity and selectivity under continuous-flow operation and 100 day aging in real groundwater, consistently reducing 1,2-DCA below regulatory thresholds. This work provides a mechanochemically engineered strategy for the selective dehalogenation of halogenated alkanes, advancing sustainable remediation of halogenated pollutants.

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https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.5c15884

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@article{li2026,
  title        = {{Electron-Localized Active Sites Enable Sustainable 1,2-DCA Dechlorination to Ethylene by Zero-Valent Iron}},
  author       = {Li Gong et al.},
  journal      = {Environmental Science & Technology},
  year         = {2026},
  doi          = {https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.5c15884},
}

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Electron-Localized Active Sites Enable Sustainable 1,2-DCA Dechlorination to Ethylene by Zero-Valent Iron

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Evidence weight

0.41

Balanced mode · F 0.40 / M 0.15 / V 0.05 / R 0.40

F · citation impact0.25 × 0.4 = 0.10
M · momentum0.55 × 0.15 = 0.08
V · venue signal0.50 × 0.05 = 0.03
R · text relevance †0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20

† Text relevance is estimated at 0.50 on the detail page — for your query’s actual relevance score, open this paper from a search result.