“…TCE is listed by the US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) as a priority pollutant and with a Maximum Contaminant Limit of 5 μg L −1 . Methods for removal of TCE from contaminated groundwater include biological transformation (e.g., Li et al 2011, Semkiw and Barcelona 2011, Tiehm and Schmidt 2011), chemical oxidation (e.g., Teel et al 2001, Yamazaki et al 2001, Waldemer et al 2007, Lee and Lee 2010, Tsai et al 2011, Yue-hua et al 2011, Yuan et al 2012a) reduction by zero valent iron (e.g., Li et al 2003, Liu et al 2006, Philips et al 2010, Petersen et al 2012) and palladium-based materials (e.g., Lowry and Reinhard 2001, Ma et al 2012, Lin et al 2009, He et al 2007, Wu and Richie 2006), photocatalytic degradation using TiO 2 catalyst (e.g., Che et al 2011, Farooq et al 2009) and ultrasonically enhanced oxidation (e.g., Rashid and Sato 2012, Ayyilidiz et al 2007, Destaillats et al 2001). Although these methods have advantages, there are limitations including high operating cost, long reaction time, and incomplete removal or accumulation of toxic byproducts.…”