Electric-Field-Driven Nanoparticles Produce Dual-Functional Bipolar Electrodes and Nanoelectrolytic Cells for Water Remediation
Qian Guo, Chao Lei, Wenqian Chen, Jingya Zhang, Binbin Huang
Abstract
Advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) represent one of the most powerful strategies for dealing with the ever-growing water pollution problem. However, their application is hindered by high cost and risk of handling catalysts and sacrificial chemicals, as well as the low efficiency of electron transfer to peroxides. Here, we report that the addition of nanoparticles (NPs) into the electric field facilitates electron transfer on the surface of NPs to generate reactive oxidizing species (ROS) without the use of sacrificial chemicals. Electrostatic induction can drive the charge separation of individual NPs. Because of the polarization, NPs are turned into numerous bipolar electrodes, which activate the electrogenerated H2 and O2 to form ROS, thereby efficiently enabling their fast reaction with the adjacent pollutants. This discovery may provide a general methodology that is fundamental for AOPs and has wide applications for real-life water remediation.