Key Considerations When Assessing Novel Fenton Catalysts: Iron Oxychloride (FeOCl) as a Case Study

Synergistically enhancing the selective adsorption of cationic dyes through copper impregnation and amino functionality into iron-based metal-organic frameworks

Dyes contaminating the sewages have seriously threatened the living beings and their separation from wastewater in terms of potential resource recovery is of high value. Herein, both of metal node doping and ligand group grafting were taken into account to enhance the adsorption selectivity of Fe-MOFs towards cationic dyes. The positive correlation between copper doping amount and selective coefficient (∂MOMB) for methylene blue (MB) over methyl orange (MO) within a certain range was mainly attributed to the increased surface negative charges via partial replacement of Fe(III) with Cu(II). Moreover, the amount of surface negative charges was further increased after amino functionalization and there was a synergism between Cu(II) and -NH2 in selectivity enhancement. As a result, Fe0.6Cu0.4-BDC-NH2 exhibited a 22.5-times increase in ∂MOMB and other cationic dyes including malachite green (MG) and rhodamine B (Rh. B) could also be selectively separated from binary and quaternary mixed dye systems. Moreover, Fe0.6Cu0.4-BDC-NH2 showed many superiorities like a wide pH range of 4.0-8.0, strong anti-interference ability over various inorganic ions, good recyclability, and stability. The adsorption kinetics and isotherm suggested that the MB adsorption process was a homogeneous single-layer chemisorption. Additionally, the thermodynamics manifested that the overall process was exothermic and spontaneous. According to the FT-IR and XPS spectra analysis, the electrostatic interaction and hydrogen bonding were determined as the main driving forces, and π-π interaction also contributed to the adsorption process.

The correlation between electron exchange capacity of Fenton-like heterogeneous catalyst and catalytic activity

Electron transfer played key role in peroxymonosulfate (PMS) activation for heterogeneous Fenton-like catalysts (HFCs). However, the relationship between electron exchange capacity (EEC) and catalytic activity of HFCs has not been elucidated. Herein, thirteen HFCs reported in our previous studies were selected to measure their EEC via electrochemical methods and to investigate the correlation between EEC and catalytic activity for PMS. The results show that nitrogen-doped graphene oxide had much higher EEC (5.299 mM(e) g-1), followed by reduced graphene oxide (3.23 mM(e) g-1), nitrogen-doped biochar-700 (2.032 mM(e) g-1), graphene oxdie (1.789 mM(e) g-1), nitrogen-doped biochar-300 (1.15 mM(e) g-1), g-C3N4 (0.752 mM(e) g-1) and biochar (0.351 mM(e) g-1). For carbon materials, their catalytic activity was not determined by electron donor capacity (EDC), electron acceptor capacity (EAC) and EEC (EDC + EAC), but was linear correlation with |EDC-EAC| that can characterize the extent of HFCs reacting with PMS. The higher the |EDC-EAC| is, the higher the catalytic activity of HFCs is. For carbonaceous materials, their catalytic activity was not proportional to EAC, but had good linear correlation with EDC and |EDC-EAC|. The discrepancy between carbon materials and carbonaceous materials could be due to the different activation mechanisms. Further analysis found that there was no correlation between EEC and the reactive species derived from PMS, indicating that the produced reactive species was not only controlled by EEC. This study firstly elucidated the correlation between EEC and catalytic activity of HFCs, and |EDC-EAC| could be used as an index for evaluating the catalytic activity of HFCs.

Metal-free electrified membranes for contaminants oxidation: Synergy effect between membrane rejection and nanoconfinement

Electro-Fenton processes are frequently impeded by depletion of metal catalysts, unbalance between H2O2 generation and activation, and low concentration of reactive species (e.g., •OH) in the bulk solution. A metal-free electro-Fenton membrane was fabricated with nitrogen-doped carbon nanotube (N-CNT) and reduced graphene oxide (RGO). N-CNT acted as a catalyst for both H2O2 generation and activation, while the incorporated RGO served as the second catalyst for H2O2 generation and improved the performance of membrane rejection. The electrified membrane was optimized in terms of nitrogen precursors selection and composition of N-CNT and RGO to achieve optimal coupling between H2O2 generation and activation. The membrane fabricated with 67% mass of N-CNT with urea as the precursor achieved over 95% removal of the target contaminants in a single pass through the membrane with a water flux of 63 L m-2 h-1. This membrane also exhibited efficient transformation of various concentrations of contaminants (i.e., 1-10 mg L-1) over a broad range of pH (i.e., 3-9). Due to its good durability and low energy consumption, the metal-free electro-Fenton membrane holds promise for practical water treatment application. The concentration-catalytic oxidation model elucidated that the elevated contaminant concentration near the membrane surface enhanced the transformation rate by 40%. The nanoconfinement enhanced the transformation rate constant inside the membrane by a factor of 105 because of elevated •OH concentration inside the nanopores. Based on the prediction of this model, the configuration of the membrane reactor has been optimized.

Boron Bifunctional Catalysts for Rapid Degradation of Persistent Organic Pollutants in a Metal-Free Electro-Fenton Process: O2 and H2O2 Activation Process

Metals usually served as the active sites of the heterogeneous bifunctional electro-Fenton reaction, which faced the challenge of poor stability under acidic or even neutral conditions. Exploring a metal-free heterogeneous bifunctional electro-Fenton catalyst can effectively solve the above problems. In this work, a stable metal-free heterogeneous bifunctional boron-modified porous carbon catalyst (BTA-1000) was synthesized. For the BTA-1000 catalyst, the yield of H2O2 (294 mg/L) significantly increased. The degradation rate of phenol by BTA-1000 (0.242 min-1) increased by an order of magnitude, compared with the porous carbon catalyst (0.0105 min-1). The BTA catalyst could rapidly degrade industrial dye wastewater, and its specific energy consumption was 5.52 kW h kg-1 COD-1, lower than that in previous reports (6.38-7.4 kW h kg-1 COD-1). DFT and XPS revealed that C═O and -BC2O groups jointly promoted the generation of H2O2, and the -BCO2 group played dominant roles in the generation of •OH because the oxygen atom near the electron-giving groups (-BCO2 group) facilitated the formation of hydrogen bond and H2O2 adsorption. This work gained deep insights into the reaction mechanism of the boron-modified porous carbon catalyst, which helped to guide the development of metal-free heterogeneous bifunctional electro-Fenton catalysts.

Electro-Fenton and Induced Electro-Fenton as Versatile Wastewater Treatment Processes for Decontamination and Nutrient Removal without Byproduct Formation

It is a long-pursued goal to develop electrified water treatment technology that can remove contaminants without byproduct formation. This study unveiled the overlooked multifunctionality of electro-Fenton (EF) and induced EF (I-EF) processes to remove organics, pathogens, and phosphate in one step without halogenated byproduct formation. The EF and I-EF processes used a sacrificial anode or an induced electrode to generate Fe2+ to activate H2O2 produced from a gas diffusion cathode fed by naturally diffused air. We used experimental and kinetic modeling approaches to illustrate that the •OH generation and radical speciation during EF were not impacted by chloride. More importantly, reactive chlorine species were quenched by H2O2, which eliminated the formation of halogenated byproducts. When applied in treating septic wastewater, the EF process removed >80% COD, >50% carbamazepine (as representative trace organics), and >99% phosphate at a low energy consumption of 0.37 Wh/L. The EF process also demonstrated broad-spectrum disinfection activities in removing and inactivating Escherichia coli, Enterococcus durans, and model viruses MS2 and Phi6. In contrast to electrochemical oxidation (EO) that yielded mg/L level byproducts to achieve the same degree of treatment, EF did not generate byproducts (chlorate, perchlorate, trihalomethanes, and haloacetic acids). The I-EF carried over all the advantages of EF and exhibited even faster kinetics in disinfection and carbamazepine removal with 50-80% less sludge production. Last, using septic wastewater treatment as a technical niche, we demonstrated that iron sludge formation is predictable and manageable, clearing roadblocks toward on-site water treatment applications.

High-efficient degradation of chloroquine phosphate by oxygen doping MoS2 co-catalytic Fenton reaction

To degrade the antiviral and antimalarial drug chloroquine phosphate (CQP), an oxygen doping MoS₂ nanoflower (O-MoS₂-230) co-catalyst was prepared by a hydrothermal method to construct an O-MoS₂-230 co-catalytic Fenton system (O-MoS₂-230/Fenton) without pH adjustment (initial pH 5.4). Remarkable CQP degradation efficiency (99.5 %) could be achieved in 10 min under suitable conditions ([co-catalyst] = 0.2 g L^-1, [Fe²⁺]₀ = 70 μM, [H₂O₂]₀ = 0.4 mM) with a reaction rate constant of 0.24 min^-1, which was 4.8 times that of MoS₂ co-catalytic Fenton system (MoS₂/Fenton). Compared to MoS₂/Fenton, the system had 1.5 times more Fe²⁺ (28.4 μM) and showed a 24.0 % increase in H₂O₂ activation efficiency, reaching 50.0 %. The electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) determinations and active species trapping experimental data revealed that •OH and ¹O₂ were responsible for CQP degradation. The combination of experiments and density functional theory (DFT) calculation demonstrates that O doping in MoS₂ modifies the surface charge distribution, leading to an increase in its conductivity, thus accelerating the Fe³⁺/Fe²⁺ cycle and promoting reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation. Furthermore, O-MoS₂-230/Fenton system exhibited excellent stability. This work reveals the degradation mechanism of accelerated Fe³⁺/Fe²⁺ cycle and abundant ROS in the O-MoS₂-230/Fenton system and provides a promising technology for antibiotic pollutant degradation.

Vanadium as co-catalyst for exceptionally boosted Fenton and Fenton-like oxidation: Vanadium species mediated direct and indirect routes

In this study, vanadium powder (V) was employed as a cocatalyst to enhance the Fenton-like system. The V-Fe(III)/H₂O₂ system can rapidly produce hydroxyl radicals and completely oxidize chloramphenicol with exceptionally high stability for long-term operation. The low-valent vanadium sites on the surface during the stepwise oxidation of vanadium from V⁰ to V(IV) can donate electrons for direct H₂O₂ activation and indirect Fenton reaction by reducing Fe(III) to produce hydroxyl radicals. Meanwhile, density functional theory (DFT) calculation unveils that low-valent vanadium sites of vanadium can lengthen Fe-O bonds of FeOH²⁺ to elevate the oxidation potential of Fe(III) and promote Fe(III) reduction induced by H₂O₂. The self-cleaning effect of vanadium under acidic conditions can maintain reactive sites for sustainable electron donation and long-lasting enhanced Fenton oxidation. This study provides a novel enhanced Fenton oxidation for water remediation and the first mechanistic insights into the origins of V-based advanced oxidation technologies, it may also be beneficial to treat vanadium-contained wastewater.

Revealing the synergistic mechanism of the generation, migration and nearby utilization of reactive oxygen species in FeOCl-MOF yolk-shell reactors

Fenton-like reactions is attractive for environmental pollutant control, but there is an urgent need to improve the utilisation of hydroxyl radicals (·OH) in practical applications. Here, for the first time, FeOCl is encapsulated within a Metal Organic Framework (MOF) (Materials of Institut Lavoisier-101 (MIL-101(Fe))) as a yolk-shell reactor (FeOCl-MOF) by in situ growth. The interaction between FeOCl and the MOF not only increases the electron density of FeOCl, but also shifts down the d-band centre. The increase of electron density could promote the efficient conversion of H₂O₂ to ·OH catalysed by FeOCl. And the shift of the d-band centre to the lower energy level facilitates the desorption of ·OH. Experimental and theoretical calculations showed that the high catalytic performance was attributed to the unique yolk-shell structure that concentrates the catalytic and adsorption sites in a confinement space, as well as the improved electron density and d-band centre for efficient generation, rapid desorption and utilized nearby of ·OH. Which is utilized nearby by the organic pollutants adsorbed by the surface MOF, thus greatly improving the effective conversion of H₂O₂ and the ·OH utilisation (from 25.5% (Fe²⁺/H₂O₂) to 77.1% (FeOCl-MOF/H₂O₂)). In addition, a catalytic reactor was constructed to achieve continuous efficient treatment of organic pollutants. This work provides a Fenton-like microreactor for efficient generation, rapid desorption, and nearby utilization of ·OH to improve future technologies for deep water purification in complex environments.

Oxygen Vacancy-Mediated Activates Oxygen to Produce Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) on Ce-Modified Activated Clay for Degradation of Organic Compounds without Hydrogen Peroxide in Strong Acid

The treatment of acid wastewater to remove organic matter in acid wastewater and recycle valuable resources has great significance. However, the classical advanced oxidation process (AOPs), such as the Fenton reaction, encountered a bottleneck under the conditions of strong acid. Herein, making use of the oxidation properties of CeAY (CeO₂@acid clay), we built an AOPs reaction system without H₂O₂ under a strong acid condition that can realize the transformation of organic matter in industrial wastewater. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) proved that the CeAY based on Ce³⁺ as an active center has abundant oxygen vacancies, which can catalyze O₂ to produce reactive oxygen species (ROS). Based on the electron spin-resonance spectroscopy spectrum and radical trapping experiments, the production of •O₂^- and •OH can be determined, which are the essential factors of the degradation of organic compounds. In the system of pH = 1.0, when 1 mg CeAY is added to 10 mL of wastewater, the degradation efficiency of an aniline solution with a 5 mg/L effluent concentration is 100%, and that of a benzoic acid solution with a 100 mg/L effluent concentration is 50% after 10 min of reaction. This work may provide novel insights into the removal of organic pollutants in a strong acid water matrix.

Comparative Experimental and Computational Studies of Hydroxyl and Sulfate Radical-Mediated Degradation of Simple and Complex Organic Substrates

Persulfate (PS)-based advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) have been promoted as alternatives to H₂O₂-based AOPs. To gauge the potential of this technology, the PS/Fe(II) and Fenton (H₂O₂/Fe(II)) processes were comparatively evaluated using formate as a simple target compound and nanofiltration concentrate from a municipal wastewater treatment plant as a complex suite of contaminants with the aid of kinetic modeling. In terms of the short-term rate and extent of mineralization of formate and the nanofiltration concentrate, PS/Fe(II) is less effective due to slow Fe(II)/Fe(III) cycling attributable to the scavenging of superoxide by PS. However, in the concentrate treatment, PS/Fe(II) provided a sustained removal of total organic carbon (TOC), with ∼81% removed after 7 days with SO₄^•- consistently produced via homolysis of the long-life PS. In comparison, H₂O₂/Fe(II) exhibited limited TOC removal over ∼57% after 10 h due to the futile consumption of H₂O₂ by HO^•. PS/Fe(II) also offers better performance at transforming humic-like moieties to more biodegradable compounds as a result of chlorine radicals formed by the reaction of SO₄^•- with the matrix constituents present in the concentrate. The application of PS/Fe(II) is, however, subject to the limitations of slow oxidation of organic contaminants, release of sulfate, and formation of chlorinated byproducts.

pH Dependence of Hydroxyl Radical, Ferryl, and/or Ferric Peroxo Species Generation in the Heterogeneous Fenton Process

The heterogeneous Fenton process in the presence of Fe-containing minerals is ubiquitous in nature and widely deployed in wastewater treatment. While there have been extensive relevant studies, the dependence on pH of the nature and extent of oxidant generation and key reaction pathways remain unclear. Herein, the adsorption and decomposition of formate and H₂O₂ were quantified in the presence of ferrihydrite within the pH range of 3.0-6.0, and experiments with methyl phenyl sulfoxide were conducted to distinguish between HO^• and weaker oxidant(s) which react via oxygen atom transfer including ferryl ion ([Fe^IVO]²⁺) and/or ferric hydroperoxo intermediates (≡Fe^III(O₂H)). Both HO^• and [Fe^IVO]²⁺/≡Fe^III(O₂H) are concurrently produced on the surface over the acidic to near-neutral pH range. Despite the simultaneous formation of both oxidants, HO^• is the major oxidant responsible for substrate oxidation in the interfacial boundary layer with [Fe^IVO]²⁺/≡Fe^III(O₂H) exhibiting limited exposure to substrates. With an increase of pH, the yield of both oxidants is inhibited by the decreasing availability of surface sites due to ferrihydrite particle aggregation. Increasing pH also favors the nonradical decay of H₂O₂ as evident from the consistent oxidant production rate relative to the surface area (SSA) despite an accelerated H₂O₂ decay rate relative to SSA with pH increase.