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Catalytic activation of persulfate by nanoscale zero-valent iron-derived supported boron-doped porous carbon for bisphenol A degradation

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Abstract

In this study, boron-doped porous carbon materials (BCs) with high surface areas were synthesized employing coffee grounds as carbon source and sodium bicarbonate and boric acid as precursors; afterward, nanoscale zero-valent iron (nZVI) and BCs composites (denoted as nZVI@BCs) were further prepared through reduction of FeSO4 by NaBH4 along with stirring. The performance of the nZVI@BCs for activating persulfate (PS) was evaluated for the degradation of bisphenol A (BPA). In comparison with nZVI@Cs/PS, nZVI@BCs/PS could greatly promote the degradation and mineralization of BPA via both radical and non-radical pathways. On the one hand, electron spin resonance and radical quenching studies represented that •OH, SO4•−, and O2•− were mainly produced in the nZVI@BCs/PS system for BPA degradation. On the other hand, the open circuit voltages of nZVI@BCs and nZVI@Cs in different systems indicated that non-radical pathway still existed in our system. PS could grab the unstable unpaired electron on nZVI@BCs to form a carbon material surface-confined complex ([nZVI@BCs]*) with a high redox potential, then accelerate BPA removal efficiency via direct electron transfer. Furthermore, the performances and mechanisms for BPA degradation were examined by PS activation with nZVI@BC composites at various conditions including dosages of nZVI@BCs, BPA and PS, initially pH value, temperature, common anions, and humid acid. Therefore, this study provides a novel insight for development of high-performance carbon catalysts toward environmental remediation.

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Data availability

The datasets used and analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. China Construction Third Engineering Bureau Group Co., Ltd., Wuhan, 430074, People’s Republic of China

    Fuxiang Du, Xiaowei Huo, Chao Xue, Chenggui Zhang, Huichao Wang, Chao Dai, Yang Yang, Cheng Lai & Junjun He

  2. China Construction Third Engineering Bureau, Southwest Group Co., Ltd., Chengdu, 610218, People’s Republic of China

    Fuxiang Du, Xiaowei Huo, Chao Xue, Chenggui Zhang, Huichao Wang, Chao Dai, Yang Yang, Cheng Lai & Junjun He

  3. College of Architecture & Environment, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610065, People’s Republic of China

    Xiaowei Huo

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Contributions

Conceptualization, formal analysis, visualization, validation and writing—original draft: Xiaowei Huo; conceptualization, validation, and writing—original draft: Chao Xue; formal analysis, visualization, and writing—original draft: Chenggui Zhang; data curation: Huichao Wang; conceptualization, formal analysis, visualization, and writing—original draft: Fuxiang Du; data curation: Chao Dai; writing—review and editing: Yang Yang; writing—review and editing: Cheng Lai; writing—review and editing: Junjun He. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Xiaowei Huo.

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Du, F., Huo, X., Xue, C. et al. Catalytic activation of persulfate by nanoscale zero-valent iron-derived supported boron-doped porous carbon for bisphenol A degradation. Environ Sci Pollut Res 31, 28241–28252 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-024-33035-0

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