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Updated: May 25, 2026

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Sulfur vacancy-rich MoS2 nanoflowers as electron shuttles boost Fe(VI) activation for efficient micropollutant
Lian Wu1, Xin Zhou1, Zi-Yi Han1
1State Key Laboratory of Urban-rural Water Resource and Environment, School of Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150090, China.
Abstract:
Ferrate (Fe(VI)) has limited applications due to its slow reaction rate with micropollutants under neutral or alkaline conditions. This study presented sulfur-vacancy-rich nanoflower-structured MoS2 synthesized via a simple hydrothermal method, which effectively activated Fe(VI) to rapidly degrade micropollutants. Almost complete removal (98.4-100%) of various micropollutants (e.g., diclofenac (DCF), trimethoprim (TMP), etc.) was achieved within 5 min after adding a low dose of MoS2 (25 mg/L) to the Fe(VI) system, with the rate constants (kobs) 5.3-27.3 times higher than those of Fe(VI) alone. Probe experiments indicated that MoS2 promoted the generation of more intermediate iron species (Fe(V)/Fe(IV)) from Fe(VI), with Fe(V) accounting for 88.8% of the total contribution. Furthermore, by adjusting the concentration of sulfur vacancies (Sv) in MoS2, a relationship between sulfur vacancy abundance and degradation efficiency was established, providing the evidence for the critical role of sulfur vacancies in the activation of Fe(VI). Sv-rich MoS2 served as key electron-shuttling, facilitating the adsorption of Fe(VI) and accelerating electron transfer processes to promote Fe(V)/Fe(IV) generation. The MoS2/Fe(VI) system exhibited outstanding performance across a wide pH range and demonstrated strong resistance to common aquatic components (Cl-, SO42-, etc.). Remarkably, increasing the concentration of humic acid (HA) from 0 to 5 mg/L led to a near-complete degradation of DCF within 2 min, accompanied by a 3.9-fold increase in the kobs value. This phenomenon can be attributed to the electron-shuttling role of HA that synergistically enhanced interfacial electron transfer. Practical application results validated that this system could achieve excellent DCF removal efficiency (96.5-97.9%) in various real water. This work provides fundamental insight into the intrinsic mechanism of defect-engineered MoS2 activating Fe(VI), offering a sustainable and efficient strategy for water purification.
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