The treatment of hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) contaminated water is considered the highest priority in the environmental field. Cr(VI) is a known carcinogen and is toxic even at parts per billion levels. In recent years, zero-valent iron nanoparticles (nZVI) have been regarded the best candidate for the decontamination of heavy metals such as chromium (Cr) in contaminated groundwater. Surface modification of nZVI has proven to enhance its stability and mobility in groundwater. In this work, the decontamination of a Cr-contaminant (Cr(VI)) through reductive reaction with polyethylenimine (PEI) coated nZVI (PEI–nZVI) was studied. Characterization was conducted using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES). The XRD patterns indicated that the nZVI product after Cr-contaminated water treatment corresponds to Fe₃O₄. Interestingly, the XANES and XPS analyses revealed the reduction of toxic Cr(VI) to less toxic Cr(III) with concurrent oxidization of nZVI to form Fe₂O₃, Fe₃O₄, or FeO. A Cr(VI) degradation efficiency of over 99.9% was observed within 10 min for the Cr concentration range 150–300 ppm. Cr(VI) was significantly adsorbed onto the surface of the nZVI nanoparticles; this could represent a cost-effective process for the in-situ remediation of Cr-contaminated groundwater. Owing to its excellent performance for the removal of Cr(VI), the environmentally friendly PEI–nZVI core-shell nanoparticle signifies an effective method for Cr(VI) decontamination.

六价铬（Cr（VI））污染的水的处理被认为是环境领域中的头等大事。六价铬是一种已知的致癌物，即使在十亿分之几的水平下也有毒。近年来，零价铁纳米粒子（nZVI）被认为是对地下水中重金属如铬（Cr）进行去污的最佳候选者。已证明nZVI的表面改性可增强其在地下水中的稳定性和流动性。在这项工作中，研究了通过与涂有聚乙烯亚胺（PEI）的nZVI（PEI–nZVI）还原反应对Cr污染物（Cr（VI））的去污。使用X射线光电子能谱（XPS），X射线衍射（XRD）和X射线吸收近边缘结构（XANES）进行表征。₃ O ₄。有趣的是，XANES和XPS分析显示有毒的Cr（VI）还原为毒性较小的Cr（III），同时nZVI氧化形成Fe ₂ O ₃，Fe ₃ O ₄或FeO。在Cr浓度范围为150-300 ppm的情况下，在10分钟内观察到Cr（VI）的降解效率超过99.9％。Cr（VI）明显吸附在nZVI纳米颗粒的表面上；这可能是就地修复铬污染地下水的一种经济有效的方法。环保的PEI–nZVI核壳纳米颗粒由于具有优异的去除Cr（VI）的性能，因此是一种有效的Cr（VI）净化方法。