Activation of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and its mechanism were investigated during corrosion of nanoscale zero valent copper (nZVC) in acidic aqueous solution. As the radical probe compound, benzoic acid (BA) degradation was completely achieved after 25 min in the nZVC/H2O2 system at initial pH 3.0. H2O2 can accelerate the corrosion of nZVC to release Cu+ resulting in the further activation of H2O2 via a Fenton-like reaction in acidic aqueous solution. The released Cu+ during the corrosion of nZVC is the main effective copper species to activate H2O2 to produce center dot OH in the nZVC/H2O2 system. Hydroxyl radical (center dot OH) was verified as the primary reactive oxidant which is responsible for BA degradation in the nZVC/H2O2 system owing to the intense inhibition of BA degradation with the addition of excess tert-butyl alcohol (TBA). Moreover, acidic aqueous solution facilitates the degradation of BA and optimum initial pH for BA degradation is 3.0. Higher nZVC dosage could enhance the degradation rate of BA. In addition, the present study put forward an interesting idea to make full use of intermediate Cu+ to activate H2O2 during corrosion of nZVC to degrade organic contaminants. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.