MOF derived MnFeOX supported on carbon cloth as electrochemical anode for peroxymonosulfate electro-activation and persistent organic pollutants degradation

Abstract

In this work, metal–organic-framework (MOF) derived MnFeOX (MD-MnFeOX) was loaded onto carbon cloth (CC) formed MD-MnFeOX/CC anode. Subsequently, the ability of MD-MnFeOX/CC anode to electrochemically (EC) activate peroxymonosulfate (PMS) for the degradation of persistent organic pollutants was tested by introducing an electric field. The degradation results indicated that the MD-MnFeOX/CC/EC/PMS system had a degradation ability of 90.20 % for tetracycline (TC) within 20 min at a very low current density of 5 mA/cm2, which was significantly higher than that of CC/EC/PMS (53.75 %) and the reported conventional synthesized double transition metal oxide/EC/PMS electrocatalytic system. In addition, the system had excellent stability and low energy consumption (0.79 kWh/m3). The influencing factors of the degradation efficiency of the system were analyzed, and the degradation ability of the system in actual water bodies was tested. The results demonstrated that the system maintained a stable degradation efficiency in various influencing factors and actual water bodies, proving that the system could degrade organic pollutants in complex water bodies. Mechanistic analysis showed that singlet oxygen (1O2) played a dominant role in the MD-MnFeOX/CC/EC/PMS system. Finally, the pathway for TC degradation in this system was explored. This experiment provides an economically feasible method to improve the electrocatalytic performance of CC electrodes.