Titanium Carbide Composite Hollow Cobalt Sulfide Heterojunction with Function of Promoting Electron Migration for Efficiency Photo-Assisted Electro-Fenton Cathode

oleh: Fengjiang Chen, Fan Yang, Sai Che, Hongchen Liu, Neng Chen, Zhijie Wu, Yongfeng Li

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: MDPI AG 2023-01-01

Deskripsi

Constructing heterostructure within electrocatalysts proves to be an attractive approach to adjust the interfacial charge redistribution to promote the adsorption of reactive species and accelerate the charge transfer. Herein, we present the one-pot solvothermal synthesis of Ti<sub>3</sub>C<sub>2</sub> supported hollow CoS<sub>2</sub>/CoS microsphere heterostructure with uneven charge distribution as the cathodic catalyst, which displays a superior quasi-first-order degradation rate (0.031 min<sup>−1</sup>) for sulfamethazine (SMT) in photo-assisted electric–Fenton (EF) process. CoS<sub>2</sub>/CoS/Ti<sub>3</sub>C<sub>2</sub> is proven to favor the 2e<sup>−</sup> oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), with H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub> selectivity up to 76%. The built-in potential present in the heterojunction helps to accelerate electron transfer, thus promoting the production of H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub>. Subsequently, H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub> is rapidly activated to produce ∙OH due to the synergistic effect of Co and S. Notably, CoS<sub>2</sub>/CoS/Ti<sub>3</sub>C<sub>2</sub> exhibits enhanced photo-assisted EF (PEF) performance under light. The excellent photocatalysis properties of CoS<sub>2</sub>/CoS/Ti<sub>3</sub>C<sub>2</sub> are attributed to that the unique hollow microsphere structure of catalyst improves the light absorption, and the uneven charge distribution of CoS<sub>2</sub>/CoS heterojunctions promotes the separation of photo-generated holes and electrons. Given the above advantages, CoS<sub>2</sub>/CoS/Ti<sub>3</sub>C<sub>2</sub> cathode delivers a high degradation rate of 98.5%, 91.8%, and 94.5% for SMT, bisphenol A, and sulfadiazine, respectively, with TOC removal efficiency of 76% for SMT with 120 min. This work provides a novel light of the design and construction of efficient PEF cathodes for the treatment of antibiotic wastewater.