Bifunctional Mo-doped FeCo–Se aerogels catalysts with excellent OER and ORR activities for electro-Fenton process

Antibiotic pollution in aqueous solutions seriously endangers the natural environment and public health.In this work,Mo-doped transition metal FeCo–Se metal aerogels(MAs)were investigated as bifunctional catalysts for the removal of sulfamethazine(SMT)in solution.The optimal Mo_(0.3)Fe_(1)Co_(3)–Se catalyst can remove 97.7% of SMT within 60 min(SMT content:10 mg/L,current intensity:10 mA/cm 2).The unique porous cross-linked structure of aerogel confered the catalyst sufficient active sites and efficient mass transfer channels.For the anode,Mo_(0.3)Fe_(1)Co_(3)–Se MAs exhibits superior oxygen evolution reaction(OER)property,with an overpotential of only 235 mV(10 mA/cm 2).Compared with Fe_(1)Co_(3) MAs or Mo_(0.3)Fe_(1)Co_(3) MAs,density functional theory(DFT)demonstrated that the better catalytic capacity of Mo_(0.3)Fe_(1)Co_(3)–Se MAs is attributed to the doping of Mo species and selenization lowers the energy barrier for the*OOH to O_(2) step in the OER process.Excellent OER perfor-mance ensures the self-oxygenation in this system,avoiding the addition of air or oxygen in the traditional electro-Fenton process.For the cathode,Mo doping can lead to the lattice contraction and metallic character of CoSe_(2),which is beneficial to accelerate electron transfer.The adjacent Co active sites effectively adsorb*OOH and inhibit the breakage of the O–O bond.Rotating ring disk electrode(RRDE)test indicated that Mo_(0.3)Fe_(1)Co_(3)–Se MAs has an excellent 2e^(-)ORR activity with H_(2)O_(2) selectivity up to 88%,and the generated H_(2)O_(2) is activated by the adjacent Fe site through heterogeneous Fenton process to generate⋅OH.