Development of Atomic Hydrogen-Mediated Electrocatalytic Filtration System for Peroxymonosulfate Activation Towards Ultrafast Degradation of Emerging Organic Contaminants

The peroxymonosulfate (PMS) activation by atomic H* is thermodynamically favorable. Herein, we rationally designed a novel H*-mediated electrocatalytic filtration system for PMS activation system to achieve highly efficient degradation of emerging organic contaminants. The key to this system was an electroactive carbon nanotube (CNT) filter functionalized with nanoscale Pd. A complete degradation of 0.04 mM sulfamethoxazole could be achieved just by passing through the filter once (Tau < 2 sec). The experimental analysis and DFT studies verified that H* was the key component triggering the generation of reactive oxygen species by PMS activation. The flow-through configuration significantly outperformed the conventional batch reactor due to the enhanced mass transport by convection. The observed efficacy could be maintained in complex matrices as well as for the degrading of diverse persistent contaminants. The mechanistic studies suggested that both radical and nonradical pathways contributed collectively to the ultrafast degradation of organic contaminants.

Automated summary

A novel H*-mediated electrocatalytic filtration system was designed to achieve highly efficient degradation of emerging organic contaminants, utilizing an electroactive carbon nanotube filter functionalized with nanoscale Pd. The system demonstrated rapid degradation of sulfamethoxazole, maintained efficacy in complex matrices, and employed both radical and nonradical pathways for organic contaminant degradation.