Enhanced polarization of electron-poor/rich micro-centers over nZVCu-Cu(II)-rGO for pollutant removal with H₂O₂

Nanoscale zero-valent copper combined with Cu(II)-doped reduced graphene oxide hybrid (nZVC-Cu(II)-rGO) is synthesized through an annealing reduction process, and it shows very high activity and efficiency for removing refractory organic compounds with H₂O₂. The conversion rate for the organic pollutant in this system is ∼77 and ∼13 times higher than that in the graphene oxide (GO) and reduced graphene oxide (rGO) systems, respectively. The characterization shows that nanoscale Cu(0) and Cu(II) are generated on the rGO surface during the annealing process and they are accompanied by the COCu bonding formation between the rGO substrate and the Cu(II) species in nZVC-Cu(II)-rGO, which induces cation-π interactions on the surface, resulting in the reinforced electron-rich micro-centers formation around the nZVC-enhanced Cu(II) species and electron-poor micro-centers on rGO-aromatic rings. The generation of nanoscale Cu(0) consolidates the polarization of the dual reaction micro-centers and greatly accelerates the electron transfer of the system, thus promoting H₂O₂ reduction to OH in the electron-rich micro-centers. Pollutants can obviously replace H₂O₂ as the electron donors of the system and are efficiently oxidized and degraded in the electron-poor micro-centers, with their own electron energy being fully utilized in the nZVC-Cu(II)-rGO Fenton-like system.