Promoted photoelectrocatalytic degradation of BPA with peroxymonosulfate on a MnFe2O4 modified carbon paper cathode

The combination of photoelectrocatalytic (PEC) and sulfate radical (SO 4 − )-based advanced oxidation technology (SR-AOP) has been regarded as a promising technology for efficient removal of pollutants by in-situ generated reactive radicals in the field of environmental remediation. Herein, a novel PEC/SR-AOP system was constructed by employing a BiVO 4 as photoanode and a MnFe 2 O 4 modified carbon fiber paper (MnFe 2 O 4 /CFP) as cathode. The introduction of MnFe 2 O 4 greatly promotes the peroxymonosulfate (PMS) activation of CFP cathode, and the PEC process accelerates the PMS activation of MnFe 2 O 4 for the high-active SO 4 − production. As a result, the BiVO 4 -MnFe 2 O 4 /CFP system exhibited remarkably enhanced photoelectrocatalytic performances toward Bisphenol A (BPA) degradation. Nearly 100% of BPA can be degraded after 90 min irradiation under the optimal condition of 1.0 V applied bias and 1 mM PMS addition. The apparent rate constant of BPA degradation over the BiVO 4 -MnFe 2 O 4 /CFP PEC/PMS system is achieved to 0.0596 min −1 . Radical scavenger experiments and electron spin resonance confirmed that the generated OH and SO 4 − showed the responsible for BPA degradation during PEC reaction. The results of XPS and LSV tests indicated the favorable redox reaction between MnFe 2 O 4 /CFP and PMS, which results in the generation of high active SO 4 − . This work provided a promising way to synthesize other novel PEC systems with excellent photoelectrocatalytic performance for environmental pollutants removal.