Highly effective activation of peroxymonosulfate via oxygen-coordinated single-atom iron for water decontamination

The traditional peroxymonosulfate-based advanced oxidation processes (PMS-AOPs) have been significantly limited by the high inputs of oxidants. Herein, an oxygen-coordinated Fe-based single-atom catalyst (Fe-N2O1/OCN) was developed as an efficient pathway to activate peroxymonosulfate (PMS). This catalyst allows for a sharp decrease in PMS dosage while avoiding the release of additional sulfate ions into the treated water. The PAPO generates bisphenol-A (BPA) radicals and SO4•− species adsorbed onto Fe-N2O1/OCN, triggering a chain reaction for BPA degradation through BPA-initiated PAPO. The excellent performance of this system is attributed to the oxygen-coordinated iron center, which weakens the coordination of PMS on Fe-N2O1 and prevents its pre-activation. Furthermore, this PMS activation pathway demonstrates high anti-interference performance and can be continuously conducted in complex water matrices for 20 days, providing a promising alternative to traditional PMS-AOPs.