Guest Molecule Insertion-Optimized d-Band Center Position in MoS₂ with Improved Sulfite Activation Ability Inspired...

As a prospective member in the family of advanced oxidation processes (AOPs), heterogeneous sulfite activation shows low cost and high safety for poisonous organic pollutants' degradation. To obtain an efficient sulfite activator, sulfite oxidase (SuO), a molybdenum-based enzyme that can prompt oxidation and activation of sulfite, inspired us greatly. Based on the structure of SuO, MoS/BPE (BPE = 1, 2-bis-(4-pyridyl)-ethylene) is synthesized successfully. In MoS/BPE, the BPE molecule is inserted between the MoS₂ layers as a pillar and the N atom links with Mo⁴⁺ directly. MoS/BPE shows excellent SuO mimic activity. Theoretical calculation implies that BPE insertion optimizes the d-band center position of MoS/BPE, which regulates the interaction between MoS₂ and *SO₄^2-. This prompts ^•SO₄^- generation and organic pollutants' degradation. At pH 7.0, its tetracycline degradation efficiency achieved is 93.9% in 30 min. Furthermore, its sulfite activation ability also endows MoS/BPE with excellent antibiofouling performance because ^•SO₄^- can kill the microorganisms in water effectively. This work develops a new sulfite activator based on SuO. The connection between structure and SuO mimic activity and sulfite activation ability is clarified in detail.