Metal
components have critical influences on the generation
of
persistent free radicals (PFRs) in biochar. However, little is known
about the effect on the formation of PFRs brought about by interactions
among metal components when pyrolyzing biomass containing multiple
metal components (e.g., sewage sludges and hyperaccumulators) for
biochar. Herein, iron-modified biochar (FeO/BC) and iron-containing
bimetallic oxide-loaded biochar (ZnFeO/BC, CoFeO/BC, and NiFeO/BC)
were prepared. Due to the synergistic effect, the coupling of Fe with
Co and Ni further enhances the abundance of PFRs in iron-containing
biochars (IBCs) compared with FeO/BC catalysts, while Zn inhibits
the generation of PFRs via blocking the electron transfer process
during biomass pyrolysis. Furthermore, persulfate activation experiments
on IBCs were conducted, and a positive correlation coefficient of
0.980 (or 0.974) was found between k
obs values and PFR intensities (or the consumption rate of PFRs), indicating
that PFRs are doubtless the critical redox sites. Finally, NiFeO/BC
as a more efficient catalyst for PS activation was confirmed due to
the higher adsorption energy and more transferred electrons based
on experimental results and theoretical calculations. This study provides
new methods for regulating PFRs in biochar and updates the understanding
about heterogeneous metal-containing biomass pyrolysis processes.