Heterogeneous Fenton-like Catalyst Research Articles

Adsorption-enhanced catalytic wet peroxide oxidation of aromatic compounds on ionothermally synthesised copper-doped magnetite magnetic nanoparticles

Environmental contextAromatic compounds are major organic pollutants that are hard to clean up by either adsorption or biological treatment processes. We synthesised Cu-doped Fe3O4 magnetic nanoparticles and showed that they efficiently degrade various aromatic compounds with H2O2 under mild conditions. This active and stabile heterogeneous Fenton-like catalyst has the potential for various environmental applications. AbstractMagnetite magnetic nanoparticles (Fe3O4 MNPs) have great potential in environmental remediation owing to the intrinsic peroxidase-like activity, which is unfortunately not strong enough to activate H2O2 for practical applications. Herein, Cu-doped Fe3O4 MNPs (Fe2.88Cu0.12O4) were ionothermally synthesised and demonstrated as a highly efficient and stable heterogeneous Fenton-like catalyst for the catalytic wet peroxide oxidation of aromatic compounds with H2O2 at pH ~7 and 25°C. Theoretical calculations found that the interaction between aromatic compounds (e.g. orange G) and Cu2+ through a terminal end-on binding mode with moderate strength was favourable to enhance their adsorption on Fe2.88Cu0.12O4. In addition, copper dopants increased the decomposition rate of H2O2 at 25°C about four-fold (0.584h−1 on Fe2.88Cu0.12O4 versus 0.153h−1 on Fe3O4), which is attributed to efficient redox cycling of iron and copper ions for synergistic activation of H2O2. Copper-enhanced adsorption of aromatic compounds, together with synergistic activation of H2O2 by surface iron and copper active sites, explained the higher catalytic activity of Fe2.88Cu0.12O4. This study provided new insight for improving the catalytic performance of magnetite-based heterogeneous catalysts for various environmental and biomedical applications.

Removal of Orange II using an adsorbent-supported zero-valent iron as a heterogeneous Fenton-like catalyst

Removal of Orange II using an adsorbent-supported zero-valent iron as a heterogeneous Fenton-like catalyst

Enhanced reactivity of zero-valent aluminum with ball milling for phenol oxidative degradation

Micron-sized zero-valent aluminum (ZVAl), a heterogeneous Fenton-like catalyst in organic wastewater treatment, whose catalytic activity is limited by the dense and stable oxide layer coating on its surface. In this paper, a simple method of ball milling was exploited to pretreat inert aluminum particles with the addition of low-cost and non-toxic sodium chloride (NaCl) grains. Then the pretreated ZVAl (marked as ZVAlbm) was employed to activate molecular oxygen catalytically for phenol oxidative degradation. No induction period was observed in ZVAlbm/Air system. Meanwhile, the reaction rate and mineralization efficiency of phenol degradation had improved in contrast with the original ZVAl. The characterization results of SEM-EDS, BET, XRD and XPS revealed that the native oxide layer of ZVAlbm was destroyed and became rougher, where its surface was embedded in NaCl grains. Thus the dissolution of NaCl in aqueous solution was imagined to expose the fresh surface of ZVAlbm, facilitating the electron transfer at the interface of ZVAlbm/H2O. Moreover, the specific surface area of ZVAlbm increased for ball milling improved its surface roughness, resulting in the enhanced reactivity of ZVAlbm. The interfacial reaction mechanism was revealed that more dissolved oxygen (DO) was activated by the exposed surface of ZVAlbm to form large amounts of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). Then in-situ production of H2O2 was catalyzed by the active-surface of ZVAlbm via a Fenton-like process to generate massive OH, which was detected as the predominant active species for phenol degradation. Finally, the reusability experiment indicated that ball milling could rejuvenate the main catalytic activity of used ZVAlbm easily. In summary, ball milling provides a green and easily-operated method to promote the reactivity of inert ZVAl for its application in organic wastewater treatment.

Improving the Fenton catalytic performance of FeOCl using an electron mediator

FeOCl Fenton-like catalyst has drawn much attention due to its high catalytic activity. Nevertheless, the potential application of FeOCl is significantly hindered by the sluggish reduction kinetics of Fe3+ to active Fe2+. Here, we report that the incorporation of Fe − O–Mo electron mediator into FeOCl via forming a FeOCl/MoS2 composite can facilitate the Fe2+ regeneration through the oxidation of Mo4+ to Mo6+, which boosts the hydroxyl radicals yields, thus leading to a significantly improved catalytic performance. The removal efficiency of methylene blue (MB, 50 mg L−1) achieves ∼100% within 2 min. with low dosage of FeOCl/MoS2 (0.2 g L−1) and H2O2 (0.6 mM). FeOCl/MoS2 not only has broad working pH range (∼3 − 9) and high salinity tolerance (100 mM), but also capable to degrade various organic pollutants. For practical application, the fabricated FeOCl/MoS2 membrane effectively degrades continuous MB flow. This study demonstrates that incorporating an electron mediator is an effective way to improve the catalytic performance of heterogeneous Fenton-like catalysts.

Unique electron reservoir properties of manganese in Mn(II)-doped CeO2 for reversible electron transfer and enhanced Fenton-like catalytic performance

Developing high-performance heterogeneous Fenton-like catalyst and understanding its intrinsic catalytic properties are of fundamental and practical significance. In this work, a mesoporous Mn(II)-doped CeO2 (MCO) with monodisperse spherical morphology and large surface area (141.8 m2 g−1) was fabricated through a simple hydrothermal–calcination process, and further utilized as the heterogeneous catalyst for oxidative degradation of organic pollutants in the presence of H2O2. The density functional theory (DFT) simulations were carried out to study the H2O2 decomposition process on the MCO surface. It was revealed that the Mn(II) doping in the CeO2 could significantly promote the complex of the surface Ce sites and H2O2 molecules. More importantly, the manganese dopants could serve as electron reservoirs, capable of reversibly donating and accepting electrons, which facilitated the electron transfer between Ce and H2O2. Owing to the electron reservoir properties of manganese, this MCO showed significantly enhanced catalytic efficiency in comparison to pure CeO2. Moreover, the catalytic activity of MCO almost kept unchanged after reuse several times, demonstrating its long-circulating characteristics. This study provides new and important insights into the electron transfer pathway involved in the heterogeneous Fenton-like process.

Insights into heterogeneous Fenton-like systems catalyzed by novel magnetic yolk-shell structures for the removal of acetaminophen from aquatic environments

In this study, novel magnetic yolk-shell structures (Fe3O4@SiO2 and Fe3O4@SiO2@Cu) were used as heterogeneous Fenton-like catalysts for the degradation of acetaminophen (ACTM) under different experimental conditions. Important factors that affected their catalytic performance were investigated, including catalysts dosage, oxidant concentrations, pH, ionic strength (IS), and natural organic matter (NOM). In addition, the NOM was isolated into different molecular size fractions, and their characterization and influence on ACTM degradation were examined to provide insight into NOM behavior in the system. The results showed that the degradation of ACTM was promoted with increases of the investigated Fe3O4 dosages. The degradation efficiencies were also enhanced as the H2O2 concentration increased from 5.0 to 15.0 mM, but they were decreased at a higher dosage of H2O2 (25 mM). The degradation was inhibited as the pH increased, but it was an insignificant difference when the pH increased from 5.0 to 7.0 in the case of Fe3O4@SiO2@Cu as the catalyst. Electrochemical analysis indicated that NOM at a certain concentration could enhance the electron transfer reactions. However, NOM was observed to have different effects on the two catalysts. Fe3O4@SiO¬2@Cu catalytic activity was accelerated when the NOM concentration was below 30.0 mg/L, and it was retarded at higher NOM concentrations, while the catalytic activity of Fe3O4@SiO2 was inhibited at all ranges of the investigated NOM concentrations. The presence of different NOM size fractions in the systems resulted in various behaviors of the catalysts in the degradation of ACTM.

Sulfurized oolitic hematite as a heterogeneous Fenton-like catalyst for tetracycline antibiotic degradation

A sulfurized oolitic hematite (SOH-600) was prepared successfully via annealing oolitic hematite in hydrogen sulfide and was investigated as a heterogeneous Fenton catalyst for the degradation of tetracycline. The physicochemical properties of SOH-600 before and after reaction were characterized by XRF, XRD, XPS, SEM and FT-IR. The influence of the experimental parameters on the performance of SOH-600, including SOH-600 dosage, initial H2O2 concentration, and initial solution pH, was systematically investigated. The results showed that the degradation process of TC followed the second-order kinetic model and that the degradation efficiency increased along with increasing SOH-600 dosage, increasing initial H2O2 concentration, and decreasing initial solution pH under the experimental conditions. Moreover, SOH-600 exhibited an excellent recycling performance and a high catalytic efficiency (>90%) after five cycles. UV–vis, TOC, ESR, and HPLC-MS analyses were used to reveal that the OH formed in the SOH-600/H2O2 system was mainly responsible for the degradation of TC, and the degradation pathway of TC was proposed.

Ibuprofen oxidative degradation in the presence of Fenton-catalyst based on MgFe<sub>2</sub>O<sub>4</sub> nanoparticles

Catalytic properties of MgFe2O4 nanoparticles during oxidative destruction of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug ibuprofen were studied. The influence of the conditions of the catalytic process on the efficiency of ibuprofen decomposition was established. It was shown that at the catalyst content of 0.5 g/L, H2O2 concentration of 20.0 mmol/L and pH of 6.0 for 40 min, a decrease in the ibuprofen concentration from 10.0 mg/L to less than detected limit is achieved. It was found that in the process of catalytic destruction the degree of ibuprofen mineralization reached 100 %. The conducted research shows the prospects of practical application of the developed Fenton-like heterogeneous catalyst for wastewater treatment from pharmaceutically active compounds.

Aerosol-assisted submicron γ-Fe2O3/C spheres as a promising heterogeneous Fenton-like catalyst for soil and groundwater remediation: Transport, adsorption and catalytic ability

This research reports a novel heterogeneous Fenton-like catalyst which could freely move through the model sediments and easily seize the pollutants in addition to efficiently catalyze H2O2, well suitable for soil and groundwater remediation. Herein, submicron γ-Fe2O3/C spheres were synthesized through a facile one-step aerosol-based process. In a series of column tests, these spheres exhibit better transport ability due to their optimal size, conforming to the prediction by the Tufenkji–Elimelech filtration theory. Meanwhile, γ-Fe2O3/C spheres could act as a strong adsorbent for organic pollutants owing to the presence of carbon, thereby providing a driving force to gather contaminants into their vicinity and facilitating the reaction. In addition, immobilization of γ-Fe2O3 nanoparticles into carbon spheres protects iron oxides from aggregation, and thus retains the number of active sites for catalytic decomposition of H2O2. Hence, the system containing the as-prepared γ-Fe2O3/C spheres and H2O2 shows the high removal efficiency and degradation efficiency in the remediation of recalcitrant organic contaminants such as methylene blue and sulfamethoxazole.

A grape-like N-doped carbon/CuO-Fe2O3 nanocomposite as a highly active heterogeneous Fenton-like catalyst in methylene blue degradation

Abstract An N-doped carbon/CuO-Fe2O3 (NC-CuFe) nanocomposite was successfully prepared via a simple, green one-pot annealing method. Different techniques were employed to characterize the physical and chemical properties of the prepared products, such as the composition, texture, structure and reducibility. XRD, XPS, TPR and especially TEM demonstrated the formation of CuFe2O4 in the Cu-doped composite. All the Cu-doped materials (NC-CuFe) showed higher activity in the Fenton reaction of MB degradation than the non-doped sample (C-Fe). In particular, the composite doped with 10 wt% CuO (NC-CuFe-2) exhibited the best performance, with approximately 98% of the methylene blue (MB) removed in 180 min in the presence of H2O2. The high specific surface area, the mutual charge interaction between Cu2+ and Fe3+, the mobility of the lattice oxygen and the high pyridinic N content in NC-CuFe-2 were responsible for the high activity in the Fenton reaction. Moreover, NC-CuFe-2 also demonstrated excellent stability and reusability, which were crucial for practical applications.

Adsorption and degradation of sulfadiazine over nanoscale zero-valent iron encapsulated in three-dimensional graphene network through oxygen-driven heterogeneous Fenton-like reactions

Fe-based heterogeneous Fenton-like catalysts has shown tremendous potential for wastewater treatment, but the investigation of adsorption, reduction and oxidation mechanism remains challenging. In this study, nanoscale zero-valent iron encapsulated in three-dimensional graphene network (3D-GN@nZVI) was synthesized and characterized as a heterogeneous Fenton-like catalyst via the activation of dissolved oxygen (DO) for adsorption and degradation of sulfadiazine (SDZ). 3D-GN@nZVI had the synergistic effect of catalytic reactivity for sulfadiazine removal, which was evaluated in view of the effects of operational factors. The role of adsorption, reduction and oxidation was determined; in 3D-GN@nZVI/DO system, sulfadiazine was removed mainly by the attack of hydroxyl radicals (OH). The possible degradation pathway of sulfadiazine was inferred by identifying reactive oxidizing species and degradation intermediates. According to the X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis, Fourier Transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis and density functional theory (DFT) calculations, the distribution and transfer of electrons on the surface of 3D-GN@nZVI were illustrated, and the adsorption and oxidation mechanisms of sulfadiazine through DO-driven and micro-electrolysis-enhanced heterogeneous Fenton-like reaction were proposed. The comprehensive mechanism was elucidated to provide new insights to advance the DO-driven Fenton-like process and to inspire the development of nZVI and relevant composites.

Preparation and catalytic performance of CuFe2O4 nanoparticles supported on reduced graphene oxide (CuFe2O4/rGO) for phenol degradation

A facile low-temperature approach was employed to prepare CuFe2O4 nanoparticles over chemically reduced graphene oxide (CuFe2O4/rGO) by co-precipitation of rGO with copper and iron salts in one-pot. The structures, compositions, purities, and morphologies of CuFe2O4/rGO composites were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques. The results showed that CuFe2O4 nanoparticles decorated uniformly the rGO sheets. The prepared CuFe2O4/rGO composites were applied as heterogeneous Fenton-like catalysts for the degradation of phenol, as a model pollutant, using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The photocatalytic activity of the CuFe2O4/rGO composites was also investigated. Complete removal of phenol was achieved within 15 min under photocatalytic conditions at room temperature. The CuFe2O4/rGO nanocomposites exhibited a higher catalytic activity compared to bare CuFe2O4 nanoparticles. The catalytic performance of CuFe2O4/rGO was also higher than TiO2 catalysts.

Heterogeneous Fenton-like degradation of tetracyclines using porous magnetic chitosan microspheres as an efficient catalyst compared with two preparation methods

The construction of heterogeneous Fenton-like catalyst with high efficiency is crucial for wastewater treatment. In this study, magnetite nanoparticles were successfully embedded into chitosan beads to form a porous structure (Fe3O4-Cs) by in-situ or two-step method, and it was put forward as a kind of Fenton-like catalyst to degrade tetracyclines for the first time. SEM, TEM, XRD, FT-IR, XPS, TG and BET technologies were used to characterize its properties. After comparing the tetracycline hydrochloride (TC) degradation efficiencies of two prepared beads, the in-situ method was selected for subsequent studies. The influential factors of TC degradation efficiency were investigated, including iron content, pH value, the amount of H2O2, reaction temperature, catalyst dosage and initial TC concentration. The results showed that under the optimal conditions, about 96.0% of TC (48.09 mg/L) and 68.3% of total organic carbon (TOC) were degraded within 20 min and 120 min, respectively. The degradation efficiencies for the other two tetracyclines: oxytetracycline (OTC) and doxycycline hyclate (DOTC), have been explored as well. And the degradation process followed pseudo first order kinetic equation. In addition, these Fe3O4-Cs beads with saturated magnetization could be easily reused for 6 cycles without significantly reducing catalytic activity. High degradation performance of beads was attributed to the stable porous structure, abundant active sites and possible synergistic effects between two components, which promoted the formation of hydroxyl radicals (HO) for TC degradation. The possible reaction pathways and mechanism on TC degradation were discussed technically. In short, these results indicated that macroscopic Fe3O4-Cs beads (3–4 mm) with high efficiency, excellent stability and reusability exhibited a superior Fenton-like process on the removal of tetracyclines for future application.

Heterogeneous Fenton-like catalyst for treatment of rhamnolipid-solubilized hexadecane wastewater

The treatment of wastewater containing hydrophobic organic pollutants solubilized by surfactants is of great environmental importance. In this work, the removal of rhamnolipid-solubilized hexadecane via a salicylic acid-methanol-acetone modified steel converter slag (SMA-SCS) catalyzed Fenton-like process was studied. First, we investigated the adsorption of rhamnolipid and hexadecane onto SCS and SMA-modified SCS. Compared to that of SCS, SMA-SCS exhibited better adsorption performance with maximum adsorption capacities of 0.23 and 0.28 mg/g for hexadecane and rhamnolipid, respectively. Degradation experiments showed that hexadecane was more readily degraded by the Fenton-like process than rhamnolipid. Up to 81.1% of hexadecane removal was achieved over 20 g/L of SMA-SCS within 24 h, whereas only 36% of rhamnolipid was degraded. On the other hand, the results indicated that increased rhamnolipid concentration had a negative effect on the degradation of hexadecane. During the oxidation reaction, the pH value of solution remained between 6.0 and 6.72. All these results demonstrated that the SMA-SCS/H2O2 Fenton-like process could be a cost-effective and promising approach for the treatment of surfactant-solubilized hydrophobic organic compounds.

BiFeO3/MoS2 nanocomposites with the synergistic effect between ≡MoVI/≡MoIV and ≡FeIII/≡FeII redox cycles for enhanced Fenton-like activity

BiFeO3/MoS2 nanocomposites with different composition ratios were synthesized under hydrothermal treatment and employed as heterogeneous Fenton-like catalysts. The nanocomposite sample with 80% MoS2 content exhibited the highest Fenton-like activity by degrading acid orange 7, which was 406.0 and 8.8 times higher than that of pristine BiFeO3 and MoS2, respectively. Instrumental characterizations including Raman and XPS were employed to deeply investigate the interfacial interaction between BiFeO3 and MoS2. The results indicated that the strong interfacial coupling of Bi-S bond was formed as a fast electron transfer channel where BiFeO3 could accept electrons from MoS2. A proposed mechanism suggested that the Fenton-like performance of BiFeO3/MoS2 was promoted by the synergistic effect between ≡MoVI/≡MoIV and ≡FeIII/≡FeII redox cycles.

Green synthesis of biomass-derived activated carbon/Fe-Zn bimetallic nanoparticles from lemon (Citrus limon (L.) Burm. f.) wastes for heterogeneous Fenton-like decolorization of Reactive Red 2

Green synthesis of catalyst and catalyst supporting material with the utilization of agricultural wastes is a quite cost-effective and environmentalist approach for the removal of toxic organic compounds such as azo dyes from water sources. In this study, lemon (Citrus limon (L.) Burm. f.) by-products such as pomace and leaves, which are remained as waste after especially juice production and domestic consumption, were used for developing biomass-derived activated carbon (AC) supported heterogeneous Fenton-like catalyst. In the scope of this work, firstly; the activated carbon (Lp-AC) from lemon (Citrus limon (L.) Burm. f.) pomace was prepared, and then, it was combined with the biosynthesized Fe-Zn bimetallic nanoparticles using aqueous lemon leaves extract as a reducing agent. The final material was named as activated carbon/Fe-Zn bimetallic nanoparticles (Lp-AC/Fe-Zn NPs). The characterization of Lp-AC and Lp-AC/Fe-Zn NPs materials was carried out by using FTIR, SEM, EDX, BET and XRD methods. The biosynthesized Lp-AC/Fe-Zn NPs were utilized as a catalyst for the decolorization of a toxic azo-dyestuff, Reactive Red 2 (RR 2), with heterogeneous Fenton-like reaction and the optimum decolorization conditions were determined to be initial pH 3.0, H2O2 concentration 50 mM, initial dye concentration 100 mg L−1, catalyst concentration 0.1 g L−1, and temperature 25 °C. In the present work showed that activated carbon and Fe-Zn bimetallic nanoparticles could be synthesized through an efficient biosynthesis method using lemon waste materials which are pomace and leaves.

Quinone-modified metal-organic frameworks MIL-101(Fe) as heterogeneous catalysts of persulfate activation for degradation of aqueous organic pollutants.

In this work, quinone-modified metal-organic framework MIL-101(Fe)(Q-MIL-101(Fe)), as a novel heterogeneous Fenton-like catalyst, was synthesized for the activation of persulfate (PS) to remove bisphenol A (BPA). The synthetic Q-MIL-101(Fe) was characterized via X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope, Fourier transform infrared, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, cyclic voltammetry and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. As compared to the pure MIL-101(Fe), Q-MIL-101(Fe) displayed better catalytic activity and reusability. The results manifested that the Q-MIL-101(Fe) kept quinone units, which successfully promoted the redox cycling of Fe3+/Fe2+ and enhanced the removal efficiency. In addition, the reaction factors of Q-MIL-101(Fe) were studied (e.g. pH, catalyst dosage, PS concentration and temperature), showing that the optimum conditions were [catalyst] = 0.2 g/L, [BPA] = 60 mg/L, [PS] = 4 mmol/L, pH = 6.79, temperature = 25 °C. On the basis of these findings, the probable mechanism on the heterogeneous activation of PS by Q-MIL-101(Fe) was proposed.

Green synthesis of Fe-based material using tea polyphenols and its application as a heterogeneous Fenton-like catalyst for the degradation of lincomycin

Iron-based catalysts (GFe0.5) were successfully prepared from tea polyphenols (TP) and ferric trichloride and used as a heterogeneous Fenton-like catalyst for the degradation of lincomycin (LCM). The results showed that a GFe0.5 dosage of 0.01 g/L could completely degrade a 20 mg/L concentration of LCM in 90 min, and assessment of the toxicity to luminous bacteria showed that the GFe0.5/H2O2 system effectively reduced the toxicity risk posed by this pollutant. The results of transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and other characterisations showed that the synthetic material had a triangular structure similar to that of nonacarbonyldiiron, with Fe2+, Fe3+ and organic groups attached to the triangular structure's surface. That is, the present environment-friendly synthesis produces an Fe-based material resembling a mixture of nonacarbonyldiiron and ferrous chloride. Free-radical capture and electron spin resonance experiments confirmed that ·OH was the main active free radical in the degradation mechanism of the iron-based material. Cyclic experiments, inductively coupled plasma and XRD characterisation of the materials after the reaction showed that the loss of free iron was the main reason for the decrease of activity. The free iron in the Fe-based material becomes bound during the reaction, which effectively avoids the excessive consumption of Fe2+ in the prophase of the Fenton-like reaction, and is the key to both the efficient Fenton-like catalytic ability of GFe0.5, and to preventing the production of iron sludge.

A nanoscale "yarn ball"-like heteropoly blue catalyst for extremely efficient elimination of antibiotics and dyes.

Fenton system is one of the most popular methods to eliminate antibiotics and dyes in aquatic environment. However, the existed Fenton system is limited by various factors such as potential second pollution and narrow pH range. In this study, we report that the bottlenecks for high strength antibiotics and dyes wastewater treatment at a wide pH range can be well tackled by the nanoscale "yarn ball"-like Mo/W-containing heteropoly blue (HPB) catalyst Mg2Ti6Mo23O119SiW12 (1). This novel catalyst displayed extremely efficient elimination for several typical organic contaminants such as malachite green (MG), tetracycline (TC) and methyl orange (MO). Compared with other materials reported in previous papers, the catalytic performance of 1 in degradation of the organic contaminants of high concentrations increased several times. More than 90% of antibiotics and dyes are degraded within 60 min. Electron spin resonance (ESR) experiments and UV-vis spectra confirmed that the catalytic mechanisms of 1 could mainly ascribe to the 1/H2O2 process and the possible photocatalytic oxidation of adsorbed H2O by holes (h+) in the valence band (VB) of 1 surface generated ·OH for extremely efficient degradation of organic contaminants. This work widens the optimal pH values up to neutral condition and it's significant for the expansion of the heterogeneous Fenton-like catalyst family and its application in the field of water treatment.

The mixed marriage of copper and carbon ring-g-C3N4 nanosheet: A visible-light-driven heterogeneous Fenton-like catalyst

Abstract Effective photogenerated charge separation and rapid Cu(II)/Cu(I) redox cycling is still challenging for photocatalytic reactions and copper-based Fenton-like process, respectively. Herein, a novel heterogeneous Fenton-like catalyst of copper incorporated carbon ring-g-C3N4 (Cu-C-CN) was prepared through a facile calcination method. The carbon ring could be intimately connected with g-C3N4 via sp2-hybridized C N bonds to form an in-plane π-conjugated structure. The carbon ring spliced g-C3N4 (C-CN) can serve as an effective electron-hole separator owing to the varied electron affinity of two domains (e.g. carbon-ring and g-C3N4). The copper species were further introduced to the framework of g-C3N4 via the Cu N bonds to act as acceptors of conduction-electrons from g-C3N4 and H2O2 activators. Taking the photodegradation of methylene blue (MB) as a model reaction, the decomposition efficiency over Cu-C-CN is 5.5 times higher than that of pristine g-C3N4, and would nearly linearly increase with pH. The notable enhancement in photodegradation efficiency could be ascribed to the synergetic collaboration between photocatalysis process and Fenton-like process to generate abundant OH and e−. The Cu-C-CN catalyst shows high recycling stability with negligible Cu leaching due to the strong affinity of Cu2+ to g-C3N4 framework. The strategy of coupling Fenton-like catalysts, electron-deficient domains (e.g. carbon-ring) into semiconductor-based photocatalysis provides a facile and promising solution to the remediation of water pollution with solar energy.