Oxidation Evolution and Activity Origin of N-Doped Carbon in the Oxygen Reduction Reaction

N-doped carbon materials,with their applications as electrocatalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction(ORR),have been extensively studied.However,a negletcted fact is that the operating potential of the ORR is higher than the theoretical oxida-tion potential of carbon,possibly leading to the oxidation of carbon materials.Consequently,the infl uence of the structural oxidation evolution on ORR performance and the real active sites are not clear.In this study,we discover a two-step oxida-tion process of N-doped carbon during the ORR.The fi rst oxidation process is caused by the applied potential and bubbling oxygen during the ORR,leading to the oxidative dissolution of N and the formation of abundant oxygen-containing functional groups.This oxidation process also converts the reaction path from the four-electron(4e)ORR to the two-electron(2e)ORR.Subsequently,the enhanced 2e ORR generates oxidative H_(2)O_(2),which initiates the second stage of oxidation to some newly formed oxygen-containing functional groups,such as quinones to dicarboxyls,further diversifying the oxygen-containing functional groups and making carboxyl groups as the dominant species.We also reveal the synergistic eff ect of multiple oxygen-containing functional groups by providing additional opportunities to access active sites with optimized adsorption of OOH*,thus leading to high effi ciency and durability in electrocatalytic H_(2)O_(2) production.

Effects of mechanical activation and oxidation-reduction on hydrochloric acid leaching of Panxi ilmenite concentration

The effects of oxidation-reduction treatment and mechanical activation on the hydrochloric acid leaching performance of Panxi ilmenite concentration were investigated.The results show that both of oxidation-reduction treatment and mechanical activation significantly accelerate the extraction of Fe,Ca and Mg from Panxi ilmenite concentration;however,the CaO and MgO contents of the calcined residues obtained from oxidized-reduced ilmenite concentration are higher than the standard values required by chlorination process.The Ca and Mg in oxidized-reduced ilmenite concentration can be leached much faster after mechanical activation,yielding a synthetic rutile which meets the requirements of chlorination process containing 90.50% TiO2 and 1.37% total iron as well as combined CaO and MgO of 1.00%.The optimum oxidation and reduction conditions are as follows：oxidization at 900 ℃ in the presence of oxygen for 15 min and reduction at 750 ℃ by hydrogen for 30 min.

Hydrothermal synthesis of titanium-supported nanoporous palladium-copper electrocatalysts for formic acid oxidation and oxygen reduction reaction

Nanoporous Pd and binary Pd-Cu particles were prepared by a hydrothermal method using ethylene glycol as a reduction agent and they were directly immobilized on Ti substrates named as Ti-supported Pd-based catalysts. Their electrocatalytic activity for formic acid oxidation and oxygen reduction reaction （ORR） in alkaline media was examined by voltammetric techniques. Among the as-prepared catalysts, nanoPdslCu19/Ti catalyst presents the highest current density of 39.8 mA/cm2 at -0.5 V or 66.4 mA/cm2 at -0.3 V for formic acid oxidation. The onset potential of ORR on the nanoPdslCU19/Ti catalyst presents an about 70 mV positive shift compared to that on the nanoPd/Ti, and the current density of ORR at -0.3 V is 2.12 mA/cm2, which is 3.7 times larger than that on the nanoPd/Ti.

Porous metal oxides in the role of electrochemical CO_(2) reduction reaction

The global energy-related CO_(2) emissions have rapidly increased as the world economy heavily relied on fossil fuels.This paper explores the pressing challenge of CO_(2) emissions and highlights the role of porous metal oxide materials in the electrocatalytic reduction of CO_(2)(CO_(2)RR).The focus is on the development of robust and selective catalysts,particularly metal and metal-oxide-based materials.Porous metal oxides offer high surface area,enhancing the accessibility to active sites and improving reaction kinetics.The tunability of these materials allows for tailored catalytic behavior,targeting optimized reaction mechanisms for CO_(2)RR.The work also discusses the various synthesis strategies and identifies key structural and compositional features,addressing challenges like high overpotential,poor selectivity,and low stability.Based on these insights,we suggest avenues for future research on porous metal oxide materials for electrochemical CO_(2) reduction.

Electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide to produce formic acid coupled with oxidative conversion of biomass

Electrochemical reduction of CO_(2)(CO_(2)RR)has become a research hot spot in recent years in the context of carbon neutrality.HCOOH is one of the most promising products obtained by electrochemical reduction of CO_(2) due to its high energy value as estimated by market price per energy unit and wide application in chemical industry.Biomass is the most abundant renewable resource in the natural world.Coupling biomass oxidative conversion with CO_(2)RR driven by renewable electricity would well achieve carbon negativity.In this work,we comprehensively reviewed the current research progress on CO_(2)RR to produce HCOOH and coupled system for conversion of biomass and its derivatives to produce value-added products.Sn-and Bi-based electrocatalysts are discussed for CO_(2)RR with regards to the structure of the catalyst and reaction mechanisms.Electro-oxidation reactions of biomass derived sugars,alcohols,furan aldehydes and even polymeric components of lignocellulose were reviewed as alternatives to replace oxygen evolution reaction(OER)in the conventional electrolysis process.It was recommended that to further improve the efficiency of the coupled system,future work should be focused on the development of more efficient and stable catalysts,careful design of the electrolytic cells for improving the mass transfer and development of environment-friendly processes for recovering the formed formate and biomass oxidation products.

Effect of Cr2O3 addition on oxidation induration and reduction swelling behavior of chromium-bearing vanadium titanomagnetite pellets with simulated coke oven gas

The oxidation induration and reduction swelling behavior of chromium-bearing vanadium titanomagnetite pellets(CVTP)with Cr2O3 addition were studied,and the reduction swelling index(RSI)and compressive strength(CS)of the reduced CVTP with simulated coke oven gas(COG)injection were investigated.The results showed that the CS of the CVTP decreases and the porosity of the CVTP increases with increasing amount of Cr2O3 added.The Cr2O3 mainly exists in the form of(Cr,Fe)2O3 solid solution in the CVTP and as Fe-Cr in the reduced CVTP.The CS of the reduced CVTP increases and the RSI of the reduced CVTP decreases with increasing amount of Cr2O3 added.The limited aggregation and diffusion of metallic iron contribute to the formation of dense lamellar crystals,which leads to the slight decrease for reduction swelling behavior of reduced CVTP.This work provides a theoretical and technical basis for the utilization of CVTP and other Cr-bearing ores such as chromite with COG recycling technology.

Rough-surfaced bimetallic copper–palladium alloy multicubes as highly bifunctional electrocatalysts for formic acid oxidation and oxygen reduction

Engineering the morphology of nanomaterials and modifying their electronic structure are effective ways to improve their performance in electrocatalysis. Through combining the co-reduction of Pd2+ and Cu2+ precursors with a digestive ripening process in oleylamine, we report the synthesis of copper-palladium(Cu-Pd) alloy multicubes with rough surfaces. Benefiting from their alloy and unique rough-surfaced structure,which provides ample edge/corner and step atoms as well as the electronic coupling between Cu and Pd leading to the lower of d-band center, the rough-surfaced Cu-Pd alloy multicubes show much better electrocatalytic performance not only for formic acid oxidation but also for oxygen reduction in comparison with those of spherical Cu-Pd alloy nanoparticles and commercial Pd/C catalyst. In contrast, we confirm that the rough-surfaced Cu-Pd alloy multicubes only exhibit very low Faradaic efficiency(34.3%) for electrocatalytic conversion of carbon dioxide(CO2) to carbon monoxide(CO) due to the presence of strong competing hydrogen evolution reaction, which results in their very poor selectivity for the reduction of CO2 to CO. The findings in this study not only offer a promising strategy to produce highly effective electrocatalysts for direct formic acid fuel cells, but also enlighten the ideas to design efficient electrocatalysts for CO2 reduction.

Reduced graphene oxide supported PdNi alloy nanocrystals for the oxygen reduction and methanol oxidation reactions

The research on electrocatalysts with relatively lower price than Pt and excellent electrocatalytic performance for the cathode oxygen reduction reaction(ORR) and anode methanol oxidation reaction(MOR) is vital for the development of direct methanol fuel cells(DMFCs). In this work, we develop a cyanogel-reduction method to synthesize reduced graphene oxide(rGO) supported highly dispersed PdNi alloy nanocrystals(PdNi/rGO) with high alloying degree and tunable Pd/Ni ratio. The large specific surface area and the d-band center downshift of Pd result in excellent activity of Pd4 Ni1/rGO nanohybrids for the ORR. The modification of Pd electronic structure can facilitate the adsorption of CH3 OH on Pd surface and the highly oxophilic property of Ni can eliminate/mitigate the COadsintermediates poisoning, which make PdNi/r GO nanohybrids possess superior MOR activity. In addition, rGO improve the stability of PdNi alloy nanocrystals for the ORR and MOR. Due to high activity and stability for the ORR and MOR, PdNi/rGO nanohybrids are promising to be an available bifunctional electrocatalyst in DMFCs.

Single-atom catalysts for CO oxidation,CO_(2) reduction,and O_(2) electrochemistry

CO_(x)(x=1,2)and O_(2) chemistry play key roles in tackling global severe environmental challenges and energy issues.To date,the efficient selective electrocatalytic transformations of COx-carbon chemicals,and O_(2)-hydrogenated products are still huge challenges.Single-atom catalysts(SACs)as atomic-scale novel catalysts in which only isolated metal atoms are dispersed on supports shed new insights in overcome these obstacles in CO_(x) and O_(2) chemistry,including CO oxidation,CO_(2) reduction reaction(CO_(2)RR),oxygen reduction reaction(ORR),and oxygen evolution reaction(OER).In this review,the unique features and advanced synthesis strategies of SACs from a viewpoint of fundamental synthesis design are first highlighted to guide future strategy design for controllable SAC synthesis.Then,the to-date reported CO_(2)RR,CO oxidation,OER,and ORR mechanism are included and summarized.More importantly,the design principles and design strategies of improving the intrinsic activity,selectivity,and stability are extensively discussed and the engineering strategy is classified as neighbor coordination engineering,metal-atom engineering,and substrate engineering.Via the comprehensive review and summary of state-of-the-art SACs,the synthesis–structure–property–mechanism–design principle relation can be revealed to shed lights into the structural construction of SACs.Finally,we present an outlook on current challenges and future directions for SACs in CO_(x) and O_(2) chemistry.

Acetic acid-assisted mild dealloying of fine CuPd nanoalloys achieving compressive strain toward high-efficiency oxygen reduction and ethanol oxidation electrocatalysis

Dealloying by which the transition metal is partially or completely leached from an alloy precursor is an effective way to optimize the fundamental effects for further enhancing the electrocatalysis of a catalyst.Herein,to address the deficiencies associated with the commonly used dealloying methods,for example,electrochemical and sulfuric acid/nitric acid treatment,we report an acetic acid-assisted mild strategy to dealloy Cu atoms from the outer surface layers of CuPd alloy nanoparticles to achieve high-efficiency electrocatalysis for oxygen reduction and ethanol oxidation in an alkaline electrolyte.The leaching of Cu atoms by acetic acid exerts an additional compressive strain effect on the surface layers and exposes more active Pd atoms,which is beneficial for boosting the catalytic performance of a dealloyed catalyst for the oxygen reduction reaction(ORR)and the ethanol oxidation reaction(EOR).In particular,for ORR,the CuPd nanoparticles with a Pd/Cu molar ratio of 2:1 after acetic dealloying show a half-wave potential of 0.912 V(vs.RHE)and a mass activity of 0.213 AmgPd^(-1) at 0.9 V,respectively,while for EOR,the same dealloyed sample has a mass activity and a specific activity of 8.4 Amg^(-1) and 8.23 mA cm^(-2),respectively,much better than their dealloyed counterparts at other temperatures and commercial Pd/C as well as a Pt/C catalyst.

Hierarchically skeletal multi-layered Pt-Ni nanocrystals for highly efficient oxygen reduction and methanol oxidation reactions

Pt based materials are the most efficient electrocatalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction(ORR)and methanol oxidation reaction(MOR)in fuel cells.Maximizing the utilization of Pt based materials by modulating their morphologies to expose more active sites is a fundamental objective for the practical application of fuel cells.Herein,we report a new class of hierarchically skeletal Pt-Ni nanocrystals(HSNs)with a multi-layered structure,prepared by an inorganic acid-induced solvothermal method.The addition of H_(2)SO_(4)to the synthetic protocol provides a critical trigger for the successful growth of Pt-Ni nanocrystals with the desired structure.The Pt-Ni HSNs synthesized by this method exhibit enhanced mass activity of 1.25 A mgpt−1 at 0.9 V(versus the reversible hydrogen electrode)towards ORR in 0.1-M HClO_(4),which is superior to that of Pt-Ni multi-branched nanocrystals obtained by the same method in the absence of inorganic acid;it is additionally 8.9-fold higher than that of the commercial Pt/C catalyst.Meanwhile,it displays enhanced stability,with only 21.6%mass activity loss after 10,000 cycles(0.6–1.0 V)for ORR.Furthermore,the Pt-Ni HSNs show enhanced activity and anti-toxic ability in CO for MOR.The superb activity of the Pt-Ni HSNs for ORR and MOR is fully attributed to an extensively exposed electrochemical surface area and high intrinsic activity,induced by strain effects,provided by the unique hierarchically skeletal alloy structure.The novel open and hierarchical structure of Pt-Ni alloy provides a promising approach for significant improvements of the activity of Pt based alloy electrocatalysts.

Amorphous CoOx coupled carbon dots as a spongy porous bifunctional catalyst for efficient photocatalytic water oxidation and CO2 reduction

Cobalt-based oxides,with high abundance,good stability and excellent catalytic performance,are regarded as promising photocatalysts for artificial photosynthetic systems to alleviate foreseeable energy shortages and global warming.Herein,for the first time,a series of novel spongy porous CDs@CoOx materials were synthesized to act as an efficient and stable bifunctional photocatalyst for water oxidation and CO2 reduction.Notably,the preparation temperatures visibly influence the morphologies and photocatalytic performances of the CDs@CoOx.Under the optimal conditions,a maximum O2 yield of 40.4% and pretty apparent quantum efficiency(AQE)of 58.6% at 460 nm were obtained over CDs@CoOx-300 for water oxidation.Similarly,the optimized sample CDs@CoOx-300 manifests significant enhancement on the CO2-to-CO conversion with a high selectivity of 89.3% and CO generation rate of 8.1μmol/h,which is superior to most previous cobalt-based catalysts for CO2 reduction.The composite CDs@CoOx-300 not only exposes more active sites but also facilitates electron transport,which results in excellent photocatalytic activity.In addition,the boosted photocatalytic behavior is attributed to the synergistic effect between CoOx and CDs,which was verified by the photocatalytic activity control experiments and electrochemical characterization.The work offers a novel strategy to fabricate a high performance bifunctional photocatalyst for water oxidation and CO2 reduction.

Synthesis of super high molecular weight copolymer of AM/NaA/AMPS by oxidation–reduction and controlled radical polymerization

Super high molecular weight copolymers of AM/NaA/AMPS were prepared by oxidation–reduction[OR-P(AM/NaA/AMPS)]and controlled radical polymerization[CR-P(AM/NaA/AMPS)].The resulting copolymers were fully characterized,and the reaction conditions for their preparation were optimized.OR-P(AM/NaA/AMPS),CR-P(AM/NaA/AMPS),and conventional partially hydrolyzed polyacrylamide(HPAM)in brine solution were comprehensively characterized by thermogravimetric analysis,scanning electron microscopy,atomic force microscopy,and dynamic light scattering.ORP(AM/NaA/AMPS)and CR-P(AM/NaA/AMPS)containing AMPS monomer showed better salt resistance,temperature tolerance,and viscosification property than the conventional HPAM polymer,making them more promising for enhanced oil recovery.Through comprehensive comparison and analysis,it was found that OR-P(AM/NaA/AMPS)was more conducive for high-temperature condition due to the existence of xanthone in OR-P(AM/NaA/AMPS).On the other hand,CR-P(AM/NaA/AMPS)was more suitable for high-mineral atmosphere,which could be attributed to its higher intrinsic viscosity.

Methanol oxidation in acidic and alkaline electrolytes using PtRuIn/C electrocatalysts prepared by borohydride reduction process

PtRuIn/C electrocatalysts( 20% metal loading by weight) were prepared by sodium borohydride reduction process using H_2PtCl6·6H_2O,RuCl_3·xH_2O and InCl_3·xH_2O as metal sources,borohydride as reducing agent and Carbon Vulcan XC72 as support. The synthetized PtRuIn/C electrocatalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction( XRD),energy dispersive analysis( EDX),transmission electron microscopy( TEM),cyclic voltammetry( CV),chronoamperommetry( CA) and polarization curves in alkaline and acidic electrolytes( single cell experiments). The XRD patterns showPtpeaks are attributed to the face-centered cubic( fcc) structure,and a shift of Pt( fcc) peaks indicates that Ru or In is incorporated into Ptlattice. TEMmicrographs showmetal nanoparticles with an average nanoparticle size between 2.7 and 3.5 nm. Methanol oxidation in acidic and alkaline electrolytes was investigated at room temperature,by CV and CA. PtRu/C( 50 ∶ 50) shows the highest activity among all electrocatalysts in study considering methanol oxidation for acidic and alkaline electrolyte. Polarization curves at 80 ℃ showPtRuIn/C( 50 ∶ 25 ∶ 25)with superior performance for methanol oxidation,when compared to Pt/C,PtIn/C and PtRu/C for both electrolytes. The best performance obtained by PtRuIn/C( 50 ∶ 25 ∶ 25) in real conditions could be associated with the increased kinetics reaction and/or with the occurrence simultaneously of the bifunctional mechanism and electronic effect resulting from the presence of Ptalloy.

Effect of B2O3 addition on oxidation induration and reduction swelling behavior of chromium-bearing vanadium titanomagnetite pellets with simulated coke oven gas

The oxidation induration and reduction swelling behavior of the chromium-bearing vanadium titanomagnetite pellets (CVTP) with B2O3 addition were investigated. Besides, the reduction swelling index (RSI) and compressive strength (CS) of the reduced CVTP were also examined using the simulated coke oven gas (COG). The results suggested that the CS of CVTP was increased from 2448 to 3819.2 N, while the porosity of CVTP was decreased from 14.86% to 10.03% with the increase in B2O3 addition amounts. Moreover, the B2O3 mainly existed in the forms of TiB0.024O2 and Fe3BO5 in both CVTP and the reduced CVTP. Specifically, the CS of the reduced CVTP was elevated from 901 to 956.2 N, while the RSI was reduced from 5.87% to 3.81% as the B2O3 addition amounts were increased. Taken together, B2O3 addition would facilitate the aggregation and diffusion of metallic iron particles, which contributed to reducing the formation of metal iron whiskers and weakening the reduction swelling behavior.

Direct oxidation of methane at low temperature using Pt/C,Pd/C,Pt/C-ATO and Pd/C-ATO electrocatalysts prepared by sodium borohydride reduction process

The main objective of this paper was to characterize the voltammetric profiles of the Pt/C,Pt/C-ATO,Pd/C and Pd/CATO electrocatalysts and study their catalytic activities for methane oxidation in an acidic electrolyte at 25 ℃ and in a direct methane proton exchange membrane fuel cell at 80 ℃. The electrocatalysts prepared also were characterized by X-ray diffraction( XRD) and transmission electron microscopy( TEM). The diffractograms of the Pt/C and Pt/C-ATO electrocatalysts show four peaks associated with Pt face-centered cubic( fcc) structure,and the diffractograms of Pd/C and Pd/C-ATO show four peaks associated with Pd face-centered cubic( fcc) structure. For Pt/C-ATO and Pd/C-ATO,characteristic peaks of cassiterite( SnO_2) phase are observed,which are associated with Sb-doped SnO_2( ATO) used as supports for electrocatalysts. Cyclic voltammograms( CV) of all electrocatalysts after adsorption of methane show that there is a current increase during the anodic scan. However,this effect is more pronounced for Pt/C-ATO and Pd/C-ATO. This process is related to the oxidation of the adsorbed species through the bifunctional mechanism,where ATO provides oxygenated species for the oxidation of CO or HCO intermediates adsorbed in Pt or Pd sites. From in situ ATR-FTIR( Attenuated Total Reflectance-Fourier Transform Infrared) experiments for all electrocatalysts prepared the formation of HCO or CO intermediates are observed,which indicates the production of carbon dioxide. Polarization curves at 80 ℃in a direct methane fuel cell( DMEFC) show that Pd/C and Pt/C electroacatalysts have superior performance to Pd/C-ATO and Pt/C-ATO in methane oxidation.

Comparison of 1,2,3-Trichloropropane reduction and oxidation by nanoscale zero-valent iron, zinc and activated persulfate

Trichloropropane（TCP） is a chlorinated solvent which derives from chemical manufacturing as a precursor, and it is also an important constituent of solvent formulations in cleaning/degreasing operations. The control and remediation of TCP in polluted sites is a challenge for many conventional remediation techniques due to its refractory behaviour. This challenge in mind, some nano-materials and oxidants were tested to evaluate their effectiveness as in TCP degradation in a laboratory setting. Experimental results indicate that the use of nanoscale zero-valent iron prepared by green tea（GT） as a reductant has negligible degradation effect on TCP under normal temperature and pressure conditions. However, zinc powders of similar size but higher surface reactivity, demonstrated stronger dechlorination capacity in the breakdown of TCP, as almost all of TCP was degraded by carboxymethocel（CMC） stabilized nanoscale zinc within 24 h. Activated persulfate by citric acid（CA） and chelated Fe（Ⅱ） was also used for TCP treatment with a TCP removal efficiency rate of nearly 50% within a 24 h reaction period, and a molar ratio of S2O82-, Fe2+ and CA is 20:5:1. Both the reduction and oxidation reactions are in accordance with the pseudo-first order kinetic equation. These results are promising for future use of TCP for the remediation of polluted sites.

(La0.8A0.2)MnO3(A=Sr,K) perovskite catalysts for NO and C10H22 oxidation and selective reduction of NO by C(10)H(22)

In this work, we studied the catalytic activity of LaMnO3 and(La0.8A0.2)MnO3(A = Sr, K) perovskite catalysts for oxidation of NO and C10H22 and selective reduction of NO by C10H22. The catalytic per‐formances of these perovskites were compared with that of a 2 wt% Pt/SiO2 catalyst. The La site substitution increased the catalytic properties for NO or C10H22 oxidation compared with the non‐substituted LaMnO3 sample. For the most efficient perovskite catalyst,(La0.8Sr0.2)MnO3, the results showed the presence of two temperature domains for NO adsorption:(1) a domain corre‐sponding to weakly adsorbed NO, desorbing at temperatures lower than 270 °C and(2) a second domain corresponding to NO adsorbed on the surface as nitrate species, desorbing at temperatures higher than 330 °C. For the Sr‐substituted perovskite, the maximum NO2 yield of 80% was observed in the intermediate temperature domain (around 285 °C). In the reactant mixture of NO/C10H22/O2/H2O/He,(La0.8Sr0.2)MnO3 perovskite showed better performance than the 2 wt% Pt/SiO2 catalyst: NO2 yields reaching 50% and 36% at 290 and 370 °C, respectively. This activity improvement was found to be because of atomic scale interactions between the A and B active sites, Sr2+ cation and Mn4+/Mn3+ redox couple. Thus,(La0.8Sr0.2)MnO3 perovskite could be an alternative free noble metal catalyst for exhaust gas after treatment.

A Pair-Electrosynthesis for Formate at Ultra-Low Voltage Via Coupling of CO_(2) Reduction and Formaldehyde Oxidation

Formate can be synthesized electrochemically by CO_(2) reduction reaction(CO_(2)RR)or formalde-hyde oxidation reaction(FOR).The CO_(2)RR approach suffers from kinetic-sluggish oxygen evolution reac-tion at the anode.To this end,an electrochemical sys-tem combining cathodic CO_(2)RR with anodic FOR was developed,which enables the formate electrosynthesis at ultra-low voltage.Cathodic CO_(2)RR employing the BiOCl electrode in H-cell exhibited formate Faradaic efficiency(FE)higher than 90% within a wide potential range from−0.48 to−1.32 V_(RHE).In flow cell,the current density of 100 mA cm^(−2) was achieved at−0.67 V_(RHE).The anodic FOR using the Cu_(2)O electrode displayed a low onset potential of−0.13 V_(RHE) and nearly 100%formate and H_(2) selectivity from 0.05 to 0.35 V_(RHE).The CO_(2)RR and FOR were constructed in a flow cell through membrane electrode assembly for the electrosynthesis of formate,where the CO_(2)RR//FOR delivered an enhanced current density of 100 mA cm^(−2) at 0.86 V.This work provides a promising pair-electrosynthesis of value-added chemicals with high FE and low energy consumption.

Influences of Microbial Oxidation/Reduction on Mineral Transformation in Sulfide Tailings and Environmental Consequence in Shizishan Cu-Au Mine, Tongling, Eastern China

Mining activities have created great wealth, but they have also discharged large quantities of tailings. As an important source of heavy metal contamination, sulfide tailings are usually disposed of in open-air impoundments and thus are exposed to microbial oxidation. Microbial activities greatly enhance sulfide oxidation and result in the release of heavy metals and the precipitation of iron (oxy) hydroxides and sulfates. These secondary minerals in turn influence the mobility of dissolved metals and play important roles in the natural attenuation of heavy metals. Elucidating the microbe–mineral interactions in tailings will improve our understanding of the environmental consequence of mining activities.