Simultaneous Emerging Contaminant Removal and H₂O₂ Generation Through Electron Transfer Carrier Effect of Bi─O─Ce...

Conventional advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) require significant external energy consumption to eliminate emerging contaminants (ECs) with stable structures. Herein, a catalyst consisting of nanocube BiCeO particles (BCO-NCs) prepared by an impregnation-hydrothermal process is reported for the first time, which is used for removing ECs without light/electricity or any other external energy input in water and simultaneous in situ generation of H₂O₂. A series of characterizations and experiments reveal that dual reaction centers (DRC) which are similar to the valence band/conducting band structure are formed on the surface of BCO-NCs. Under natural conditions without any external energy consumption, the BCO-NCs self-purification system can remove more than 80% of ECs within 30 min, and complete removal of ECs within 30 min in the presence of abundant electron acceptors, the corresponding second-order kinetic constant is increased to 3.62 times. It is found that O₂ can capture electrons from ECs through the Bi─O─Ce bond bridge during the reaction process, leading to the in situ production of H₂O₂. This work will be a key advance in reducing energy consumption for deep wastewater treatment and generating important chemical raw materials.