Heterojunction Membranes With Enhanced Built-in Electric Field for Sustainable Fluidic Electro-Fenton Water...

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Electrochemistry
• Environmental Science

Background:

• Sluggish interfacial electron transfer hinders in situ hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) electrosynthesis and Fe(III)/Fe(II) redox cycling in electro-Fenton (EF) processes.
• Efficient H₂O₂ generation and Fe(II) regeneration are critical for effective EF-based pollutant degradation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design and investigate heterojunction FeOCl@rGO electrocatalytic membranes (EMs) with an enhanced built-in electric field (BIEF).
• To optimize interfacial charge dynamics for improved H₂O₂ synthesis and Fe(II) regeneration in EF processes.
• To demonstrate the efficacy of BIEF-enhanced EMs for energy-efficient water purification.

Main Methods:

• Interface engineering approach to fabricate FeOCl@rGO heterojunction electrocatalytic membranes.
• Utilizing an enhanced built-in electric field (BIEF) to modulate interfacial properties.
• Evaluating EF performance across a wide pH range and in various natural water matrices.

Main Results:

• The BIEF optimizes O₂/H₂O₂ adsorption and the d-band center of Fe sites, promoting on-site H₂O₂ synthesis and Fe(II) regeneration.
• BIEF-enhanced EMs demonstrated excellent EF performance with rapid degradation of organic pollutants.
• Achieved extremely low energy consumption (0.395 kWh m⁻³ order⁻¹) and high pollutant removal efficiency (~100%) at a low cost ($0.0035/liter).

Conclusions:

• The heterojunction-regulated BIEF strategy effectively enhances interfacial charge dynamics and H₂O₂ activation in EF.
• This approach offers a promising pathway for developing energy-efficient and cost-effective water purification technologies.
• The designed EMs show significant potential for practical applications in treating contaminated water sources.