Highly Efficient Photo-Assisted Degradation of Waste Plasticizers over Atomically Dispersed Cobalt Sites

Waste plasticizers generated by anthropogenic activities are emerging organic contaminants that cause serious damage to the environment and human health. Developing robust and efficient catalysts for photodegradation of waste plasticizers from water resources is a vital but challenging target for sustainable environmental remediation. Here, the highly efficient photocatalytic degradation of waste plasticizer is reported over a metal-organic framework derived single-atom catalyst, Co_SA-TiO₂. The coordination environment and oxidation state of atomically dispersed Co sites are fully characterized by combining complementary experimental techniques. Under ambient conditions and visible light irradiation, Co_SA-TiO₂ exhibits superior catalytic performance for 100% degradation of waste plasticizer and various organic pollutants within 30 min. Importantly, the catalytic performance is well retained in various simulated wastewaters obtained from natural water bodies, showing great promise for practical applications. Spectroscopic and modeling techniques reveal the crucial roles of the single Co sites in activation of substrates and formation of reaction intermediates, thus promoting the process for photodegradation of waste plasticizers. This work will inform the future design and study of robust single-atom catalysts for efficient removal of organic contaminants from effluent for sustainable water purification.