Enhanced electro-Fenton catalytic performance with in-situ grown Ce/Fe@NPC-GF as self-standing cathode: Fabrication, influence factors and mechanism

Heterogeneous electro-Fenton (E-F) is considered as an attractive technique for efficient removal of refractory organic pollutants in wastewater. The regeneration of FeII and catalyst reusability are key issues for effective and sustainable degradation. Developing binder-free iron phase/carbon composite cathode is a feasible strategy. In this work, the stable Ce/Fe-nanoporous carbon modified graphite felt electrode (Ce/[email protected]) was fabricated using in situ solvothermal method and subsequent carbonization treatment, which worked as the cathode in a heterogeneous electro-Fenton system to degrade sulfamethoxazole. The electrocatalytic activity was significantly improved with doping of Ce. It was found that mesoporous Ce/[email protected] cathode demonstrated high oxygen reduction activity and low resistance. The co-existence of FeⅡ/FeⅢ and CeⅢ/CeⅣ redox couples enhanced remarkably interfacial electron transfer, promoting in-situ H2O2 generation and decomposition, sequentially boosting the production of reactive radicals (·OH and ·O2−). Under 20 mA and pH 3, Sulfamethoxazole (SMX) was basically degraded in 120 min, and the removal rate was satisfactory in wide pH (2–6). After 8 cycles, the electrode could still maintain high stability and outstanding catalytic capacity. This work displayed a novel in-situ preparation method of composite cathode with excellent catalytic performance in E-F system, which offered inspiration for developing efficient heterogeneous electro-Fenton cathode material.