Plasma-induced Fe-doped zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 derived P-Fe-N₃C for enhanced phenol degradation

Plasma-synergistic catalysis is considered an effective method for degrading aromatic organic pollutants in water. However, the underlying synergistic catalytic mechanism between plasma and catalysts remains poorly understood. Here, we propose a plasma-metal organic frameworks (MOFs) synergistic strategy to investigate the mechanism of plasma-synergistic catalysts for phenol degradation. The results show that Fe-doped Zeolitic Imidazolate Framework-8 (Fe_x-ZIF8, x = 0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.4) undergoes the plasma-induced transformation into an Fe-N₃C structure (P-Fe-N₃C), leading to a 4.5-fold enhancement in the phenol degradation rate compared to only plasma discharge. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations indicate that the plasma-induced structural transformation of Fe_x-ZIF8 promotes the redistribution of point charges and space charges around the Fe center, thereby lowering the activation energy barrier in the rate-determining step (*C₆H₄(OH)₂). These findings not only provide theoretical support for the degradation of water pollutants via plasma-synergistic catalysts but also offer a novel strategy for constructing MOFs-derived materials.