Highly dispersed Co/Fe bimetal in carbonaceous cages as heterogeneous Fenton nanocatalysts for enhanced sulfamethoxazole degradation

A self-assembly strategy was presented for the synthesis of highly dispersed Co/Fe bimetallic carbon cages (CoFe50@C) through thermal morphology-controlled transformation of Fe doping dual metal-organic frame-works (MOFs). Taking advantage of the well dispersibility, synergetic effects between Fe and Co species, and enhanced graphitization degree of carbon, CoFe50@C exhibited a high removal efficiency of 98% in 180 min for sulfamethoxazole (SMX). The synergistic effect between Co and Fe species played an important role in promoting the reduction of Co(III) to Co(II) and the adsorption of H2O2 molecules, thus enhancing the generation of hy-droxyl radicals (HO center dot), which had been demonstrated by density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Mean-while, the graphitized carbon cages could prevent the loss of bimetallic active component and promote the electron transfer during catalytic reaction. This work provides a new type of highly dispersed Co/Fe bimetal carbon cages as heterogeneous Fenton nanocatalyst for the degradation of organic contaminants.

Automated summary

A self-assembly strategy was developed to synthesize highly dispersed Co/Fe bimetallic carbon cages (CoFe50@C) through thermal morphology-controlled transformation. These cages demonstrate efficient degradation of organic contaminants.