Facile electrophoretically deposited of iron/carbon nanotube-based electro-Fenton cathode for high-performance organics degradation

Heterogeneous electro-Fenton (EF) technology relies on the generation of hydroxyl radicals (•OH) with superior oxidation property that can efficiently remove organic contaminants present in water. Nevertheless, the time-consuming and complex preparation process of heterogeneous EF catalysts is a major obstacle to the broader application. Given this, in the work, a composite cathodic catalyst (Fe/OCNT@CC) was prepared by loading Fe and oxidized carbon nanotubes (OCNTs) onto carbon cloth (CC) via a one-step electrophoretic deposition (EPD) method with the superiorities of easy-operation, rapid synthesis and large-scale application, which successfully reduced the time cost of conventional heterogeneous EF catalyst preparation. Notably, Fe/OCNT@CC exhibited outstanding EF degradation performance, almost 100 % phenol degradation efficiency within 30 min at pH 6.5. Meanwhile, following 5 consecutive runs, the removal rate of phenol could still reach 90.4 %, indicating the excellent stability of Fe/OCNT@CC. Furthermore, the Fe/OCNT@CC catalyst possessed remarkable removal capability for diverse organic pollutants with elimination rates of Rhodamine B, 2,4-DCP and SMX reaching nearly 100 % within 60 min. Therefore, the study offers a novel perspective on how to enhance the preparation efficiency and simplify the synthetic process of heterogeneous EF composite catalysts for efficient organic wastewater treatment.