Selenium and nitrogen co-doped biochar as a new metal-free catalyst for adsorption of phenol and activation of peroxymonosulfate: Elucidating the enhanced catalytic performance and stability.

Abstract Coupling of adsorption and advanced oxidation processes triggered by metal-free carbocatalysts is an appealing wastewater purification scheme. However, its practical application is challenging due to the unsatisfactory stability of conventional heteroatom-doped systems. Herein, we innovatively developed a simple and scalable biochemical strategy to synthesize selenium and nitrogen co-doped biochar (Se/N-BC) as a bifunctional catalyst of adsorption-oxidation. The Se/N-BC displays the highest efficiency of phenol (PE) degradation (99.2% of PE was removed within 5 min) with the lowest dosage of catalyst (0.1 g L−1) and peroxymonosulfate (PMS, 0.4 g L−1). More importantly, the Se/N-BC is not only universal in a wide pH range of 3.0–11.0 and complex ionic environment, but also possesses an excellent cycling stability. The Se/N co-doping induces a rapid cycle of adsorption-degradation for PE. The Se/N-BC acts as an transfer bridge, guiding rapid electron transfer from PE to PMS to achieve high-efficient degradation. The Se/N co-doping facilitates the formation of graphitic N and unlocks the potential of adjacent C sites for PMS activation, consequently boost oxidation efficiency. In addition, the oxidation of catalyst is prevented due to the antioxidant properties of Se, which has been a primary concern either to regenerate adsorbate or to enhance degradation performance.