Magnetic Fe/N-codoped carbon derived from modified Fe-base MOFs: Synergism of multiple active sites for peroxymonosulfate activation

In this work, a series of Fe@NC catalysts were facilely fabricated by one pot pyrolysis of Zn-Fe-MOFs precursors which was ingeniously designed by incorporating of NH2-group N and doping Zn2+ into Fe-based MOF to solve the problem of Fe aggregation. The results indicated that the reasonable design of the precursor significantly improved catalytic performance of the catalysts. As the optimized catalyst, Fe@NC-1 exhibited outstanding catalytic activity in the activation of PMS for paracetamol degradation. In Fe@NC-1/PMS system, paracetamol was completely degraded in 8 min and the degradation constant was 204 times of that for Fe@NC. The quenching and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) experiment results confirmed that SO4-• and •OH occurred during the reaction, while SO4-• was identified as the main reactive species in the Fe@NC-1/PMS system. Furthermore, graphite N, Fe-Nx and Fe0 were possible catalytically active sites. This research provides a new idea for the rational design of carbon-based catalysts in the field of advanced oxidation.