Issue 12, 2024

Modulating coal-derived carbon toward electrocatalytic generation of hydroxyl radicals for organic contaminant removal

Abstract

The three-electron oxygen reduction reaction (3e ORR), which consists of the electrochemical production of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and the subsequent activation, allows for the facile generation of hydroxyl radicals (˙OH) for environmental remediation. However, the current understanding on designing the corresponding electrocatalyst is not adequate. Herein, carbon-based electrocatalysts are prepared using bituminous coal as the raw material to obtain a high content of oxygen, which is crucial for H2O2 production, and the oxygen-containing functional groups (OFGs) in the electrocatalyst are modulated to improve the ˙OH production efficiency. Experimental and calculation results demonstrate that C[double bond, length as m-dash]O groups serve as active sites for not only H2O2 formation but also the activation of H2O2 to produce ˙OH, while H2O2 desorption and H2O2 activation are more favorable at COOH and C[double bond, length as m-dash]O sites, respectively. Therefore, after deliberately removing COOH groups from the coal-derived carbon surface, the ˙OH production efficiency is increased, leading to the fast removal of organic dyes from water. Our results demonstrate the significance of modulating the surface OFGs on the carbon-based electrocatalyst toward efficient ˙OH production from the 3e ORR, which provides a green and sustainable route toward organic contaminant removal from water.

Graphical abstract: Modulating coal-derived carbon toward electrocatalytic generation of hydroxyl radicals for organic contaminant removal

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
16 Nov 2023
Accepted
13 Feb 2024
First published
13 Feb 2024
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY-NC license

J. Mater. Chem. A, 2024,12, 7227-7236

Modulating coal-derived carbon toward electrocatalytic generation of hydroxyl radicals for organic contaminant removal

G. Zhao, T. Chen, A. Tang and H. Yang, J. Mater. Chem. A, 2024, 12, 7227 DOI: 10.1039/D3TA07082D

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