Mesoporous sulfur-doped CoFe2O4 as a new Fenton catalyst for the highly efficient pollutants removal

Herein, mesoporous sulfurized CoFe2O4 (S-CoFe2O4) was developed and applied as a new Fenton catalyst. As a result, the sulfurization for CoFe2O4 could significantly improve the Fenton performance, compared with the non-sulfurized CoFe2O4. The enhanced removal efficiencies of pollutants in Fenton process catalyzed by SCoFe2O4 was attributed to the elevated specific area and decreased electron transfer resistance of S-CoFe2O4. The DFT calculations further confirmed that the increased charge densities of Fe-S bond and Co-S bond could contribute to the existences of species of Fe and Co in S-CoFe2O4 with the low valence, which were more favorable to the H2O2 activation. Furthermore, electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) tests showed that the OH center dot and O2 center dot - were the main generated radicals during the H2O2 activation process. This work provided a new strategy for the synthesis and application of an efficient non-precious metal Fenton catalyst.

Automated summary

This study demonstrated that sulfurization of CoFe2O4 significantly improves its Fenton catalytic performance, leading to enhanced pollutant removal efficiency due to increased specific area and decreased electron transfer resistance. Density functional theory calculations further revealed that increased charge densities of Fe-S and Co-S bonds contribute to the presence of low valence Fe and Co species in S-CoFe2O4, promoting H2O2 activation.