Spontaneous degradation of bisphenol contaminants driven by an enhanced electric field in a multicomponent...

Bisphenol A (BPA) and its analogues (BPs), including bisphenol F (BPF), bisphenol S (BPS), bisphenol B (BPB), bisphenol AF (BPAF), and bisphenol AP (BPAP), are pervasive endocrine-disrupting contaminants with escalating environmental prevalence. However, current remediation strategies face critical challenges due to the interference from dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in real water matrices and high energy consumption. Herein, we engineered Fe, Zn complex graphene-like carbon (FeZn-GLC) with Fe-O-C, C-O-Zn, Fe-N-C, Zn-N-C, and Fe-C, five distinct chemical coordination bonds to strengthen cation-π interactions and generate a robust intrinsic electric field. It enabled efficient destruction of BPs in water with high and stable catalytic efficiency under ambient conditions. The high active state combination of Fe₃C and GLC, with the strongest tensile strain from multicomponent coordination on FeZn-GLC, delivered a strong electric field that triggered BPs' spontaneous degradation and O₂ reduction. The system achieved >97.5% degradation efficiency and 70%-90% mineralization of BPA/BPs under ambient conditions, with further performance enhancement in municipal wastewater. This resulted in organic radicals (R^•), O₂ ^{• -}, and ^•OH, which were shown to charge the Fe species and GLC system, thereby recovering FeZn-GLC for complete BP destruction. The results addressed the inhibitory effect of DOC in real waters on BPs removal. Our findings highlight the potential of high active state and electric energy from the catalyst surface reconstruction through multicomponent coordination for remediating micropollutant contamination in water.