Selective and nonselective removal of hydrophobic compounds by coupling engineered FeOCl in a cathode-anode synergistic electrochemical platform

Abstract

Efficient and selective removal of water pollutants remains a critical challenge. Here, we addressed this challenge by ingeniously engineering FeOCl via polyaniline intercalation and dodecyl group modification (FeOCl-P-S) to improve its activity and selectivity for the in situ removal of hydrophobic phenolic compounds. We further encapsulated the catalyst inside commercial cheap corundum balls and developed a "millimeter-scale reactor", which maintained a high efficiency of 86.02% after ten cycles with negligible physical changes. Moreover, we established the synergy between anodic (generating H⁺, O₂, and IrO₃) and cathodic reactions (utilizing H⁺ and O₂) for H₂O₂ generation and direct anodic oxidation, an unexplored process, in a vertical bidirectional gas diffusion electrochemical system (VB-GDE). By combining the "reactor" and VB-GDE, we constructed a new platform for selective and nonselective continuous pollutant oxidation in a self-sustaining acidic environment with minimal chemical residues. This work presents a promising electrochemical technology for the efficient and selective removal of water pollutants.

Keywords: Anodic reaction; Electrochemical system; Hydrophobicity; Immobilization; Iron oxychloride; Selective removal.