Functional Carbon Nanomaterials for Advanced Oxidation Processes

Abstract

Nanocarbons can be fabricated into different dimensions with well-designed functionality and morphology. These carbocatalysts can drive persulfate-based advanced oxidation processes (PS-AOPs) to evolve diverse reactive oxygen species (ROS) for pollutant degradation. As promising materials for green environmental remediation, carbocatalysts demonstrate great stability and outstanding catalytic activity compared to traditional metal-based catalysts for persulfate activation. Both radical and nonradical reaction pathways are discovered, and the carbon-based AOPs systems exhibit a wider applicable pH range and a higher redox potential. This chapter first provides a comprehensive introduction of the physical and chemical properties, synthesis approaches, and modification strategies of various carbonaceous materials in different dimensions and composites. Then, we will showcase different AOPs techniques and present the properties of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), peroxymonosulfate (PMS), and peroxydisulfate (PDS) as the knowledge base. Last but not least, we will overview the applications of different carbon allotropes in the PS-AOPs, the catalytic mechanism and reaction pathways, especially for heteroatom-doped and metal-encapsulated carbocatalysts. This chapter is expected to provide a systematic overview of the development of carbocatalysts in PS-AOPs, affording a comprehensive understanding of green oxidation and the rational design of state-of-the-art functional nanomaterials for environmental applications.