Outstanding degradation of sulfamethazine using ZnO-Boron with superior oxygen adsorption as a novel electro-Fenton catalyst

Abstract

Electro-reduction of O2 to generate H2O2 plays an important role in electro-Fenton (EF). In general, more catalytic active sites exposure and oxygen adsorption can shorten diffusion paths for the heterogeneous catalysis of O2. In this work, the ZnO modified Boron (ZnO-Boron) was prepared through a high-temperature annealing method. This special combination promotes Fe2+ recycling for the EF reaction and supplies rich active sites, which are beneficial to generate H2O2. Compared with pristine Boron, ZnO-Boron exhibited superior H2O2 production performance and sulfamethazine (SM) degradation efficiency (100% within 30 min). Moreover, ·OH and 1O2 act synergistically during the SM oxidation process in the EF system over ZnO-Boron. After five cycles, ZnO-Boron maintained the preeminent degradation efficiency of SM, indicating good structural stability and catalytic durability. This discovery provides new ideas for modifying a boron-based electrocatalyst practicable for outstanding pollutant degradation efficiency in the EF system.