We reported the selective electrochemical reduction of oxygen (O2 ) to hydroxyl radicals (. OH) via 3-electron pathway with FeCo alloy encapsulated by carbon aerogel (FeCoC). The graphite shell with exposed -COOH is conducive to the 2-electron reduction pathway for H2 O2 generation stepped by 1-electron reduction towards to . OH. The electrocatalytic activity can be regulated by tuning the local electronic environment of carbon shell with the electrons coming from the inner FeCo alloy. The new strategy of . OH generation from electrocatalytic reduction O2 overcomes the rate-limiting step over electron transfer initiated by reduction-/oxidation-state cycle in Fenton process. Fast and complete removal of ciprofloxacin was achieved within 5 min in this proposed system, the apparent rate constant (kobs ) was up to 1.44±0.04 min-1 , which is comparable with the state-of-the-art advanced oxidation processes. The degradation rate almost remains the same after 50 successive runs, suggesting the satisfactory stability for practical applications.
Keywords: FeCo alloy; carbon aerogel; hydroxyl radical; oxygen reduction reaction; water purification.
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