Regulating Surface Dipole Moments of TiO2 for the pH-Universal Cathodic Fenton-Like Process

Although electro-Fenton (EF) processes can avoid the safety risks raised by concentrated hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), the Fe(III) reduction has always been either unstable or inefficient at high pH, resulting in catalyst deactivation and low selectivity of H2O2 activation for producing hydroxyl radicals (•OH). Herein, we provided a strategy to regulate the surface dipole moment of TiO2 by Fe anchoring (TiO2–Fe), which, in turn, substantially increased the H2O2 activation for •OH production. The TiO2–Fe catalyst could work at pH 4–10 and maintained considerable degradation efficiency for 10 cycles. Spectroscopic analysis and a theoretical study showed that the less polar Fe–O bond on TiO2–Fe could finely tune the polarity of H2O2 to alter its empty orbital distribution, contributing to better ciprofloxacin degradation activity within a broad pH range. We further verified the critical role of the weakened polarity of H2O2 on its homolysis into •OH by theoretically and experimentally investigating Cu-, Co-, Ni-, Mn-, and Mo-anchored TiO2. This concept offers an avenue for elaborate design of green, robust, and pH-universal cathodic Fenton-like catalysts and beyond.