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. 2024 Dec 19;25(24):13579.
doi: 10.3390/ijms252413579.

Electrochemical Degradation of Sulfamethoxazole Enhanced by Bio-Inspired Iron-Nickel Encapsulated Biochar Particle Electrode

Shuang Geng  1   2 , Jingang Yao  1 , Lei Wang  2 , Yangyang Wang  2   3 , Xiaoshu Wang  2 , Junmin Li  1   2
Affiliations

Electrochemical Degradation of Sulfamethoxazole Enhanced by Bio-Inspired Iron-Nickel Encapsulated Biochar Particle Electrode

Shuang Geng et al. Int J Mol Sci. .

Abstract

In the electrocatalytic (EC) degradation process, challenges such as inefficient mass transfer, suboptimal mineralization rates, and limited current efficiency have restricted its broader application. To overcome these obstacles, this study synthesized spherical particle electrodes (FeNi@BC) with superior electrocatalytic performance using a bio-inspired preparation method. A three-dimensional electrocatalytic oxidation system based on FeNi@BC electrode, EC/FeNi@BC, showed excellent degradation efficiency of sulfamethoxazole (SMX), reaching 0.0456 min-1. Quenching experiments and electron paramagnetic resonance experiments showed that the excellent SMX degradation efficiency in the EC/FeNi@BC system was attributed to the synergistic effect of multiple reactive oxygen species (ROS) and revealed their evolution path. Characterization results showed that FeNi3 generated in the FeNi@BC electrode was a key bimetallic active site for improving electrocatalytic activity and repolarization ability. More importantly, the degradation pathway and reaction mechanism of SMX in the EC/FeNi@BC system were proposed. In addition, the influencing factors of the reaction system (voltage, pH, initial SMX concentration, electrode dosage, and sodium sulfate concentration, etc.) and the stability of the catalyst (maintained more than 81% after 5 cycles) were systematically evaluated. This study may provide help for the construction of environmentally friendly catalytic and efficient degradation of organic pollutants.

Keywords: FeNi@BC; bio-inspired catalyst; electrocatalysis; particle electrode; sulfamethoxazole.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
SEM images of BC (a), FeNi5@BC5 (b), FeNi5@BC7 (c), FeNi5@BC9 (d,e) and FeNi-BC (f); the XRD patterns of BC (g), FeNi5@BC9 (h) and FeNi-BC (i); XPS spectra of Fe 2p (j), Ni 2p (k) and O 1s (l).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Cyclic voltammetry curve (a), Tafel polarization curve (b) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (c) of BC, FeNi-BC, and FeNi5@BC9.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Removal curves of SMX in the different degradation systems and rate constants of the pseudo-first-order kinetic model (a), the effect of voltage (b), pH (c), SMX initial concentration (d), catalyst dosage (e), and Na2SO4 dose (f) on the degradation of SMX (Voltage = 8 V, pH = 3, [SMX]0 = 20 mg L−1, the dose of catalyst = 10 mg, Na2SO4 dose = 0.10 M, and the degradation time = 120 min).
Figure 4
Figure 4
Structural stability of five cycles of SMX degradation experiment (a), five cycles of Fe, Ni ion leaching (b), the degradation and Kobs of different pollutants (c,d).
Figure 5
Figure 5
Effect of Cl− (a), SO42− (b), NO3− (c), CO32− (d), HCO3− (e), and solvents (f) on SMX degradation. (Voltage = 8 V, pH = 3, the dose of catalyst = 10 mg, [SMX]0 = 20 mg L−1, Na2SO4 dose = 0.10 M, the degradation time = 120 min).
Figure 6
Figure 6
The degradation efficiency of SMX under different quenching conditions (a), ROS species individual contribution (b) and synergistic contribution (c), EPR spectra of •O2−, •OH, 1O2, and SO4−• in EC/FeNi@BC systems (d). (Voltage = 8 V, pH = 3, [SMX]0 = 20 mg L−1, the dose of catalyst = 10 mg, Na2SO4 dose = 0.10 M, and the degradation time = 120 min).
Figure 7
Figure 7
SEM image (a), XRD pattern (b) and XPS full spectra (c), Fe 2p (d), Ni 2p (e), and O 1s (f) of FeNi5@BC9 before and after reaction.
Figure 8
Figure 8
The degradation pathway of SMX.
Figure 9
Figure 9
The experimental device.
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