Cu/CuFe2O4 integrated graphite felt as a stable bifunctional cathode for high-performance heterogeneous electro-Fenton oxidation
By Cui, Lele; Li, Zhiwen; Li, Qingqing; Chen, Meifei; Jing, Wenheng; Gu, Xuehong
Published in Chemical Engineering Journal
Chemical Engineering Journal
2020
Abstract
The development of transition metal oxide-based integrated carbonaceous materials for use as bifunctional electrodes of high stability and activity in the heterogeneous electro-Fenton (EF) process is supposed to have great potential in environmental governance. Herein, Cu/CuFe2O4 (CCFO) with different Cu0 ratios were synthesized by a facile one-step solvothermal approach. These materials were subsequently used to fabricate modified graphite felt through the polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE)-bonding technique. Importantly, with its hydrophobicity PTFE effectively inhibited metal leaching from the thus obtained cathodes and improved the oxygen utilization rate. Cathode performance in EF-based tetracycline (TC) degradation was found to increase with Cu0 ratio. The observed increase in activity was attributed to Cu0 enhancing the 2-electron oxygen reduction reaction selectivity (i.e., H2O2 production) and endowing the cathode with abundant electron-rich centers that accelerated active Fe(II) regeneration, causing rapid conversion of H2O2 to hydroxyl radical (OH). The possible TC mineralization pathway was inferred by liquid chromatography