Excellent efficiency of 1 T phase MoS2 on phenol degradation in Fe3+/MoS2/PMS Fenton-like system

This study addresses the limited Fe 3+ /Fe 2+ conversion in homogeneous Fenton-like systems by introducing reducing MoS₂ as a co-catalyst to the Fe 3+ /PMS system, while simultaneously investigating the effect of MoS₂ crystal structure on reaction kinetics. Hydrothermally synthesized 1 T/2H-MoS₂ (denoted as M-x) significantly enhanced phenol degradation in the Fe 3+ /PMS system. Among the catalysts, M-180 demonstrated optimal performance, achieving 91.14 % phenol degradation within 20 min. XPS analysis revealed a positive correlation between 1 T-phase content and degradation efficiency, confirming that 1 T-MoS₂ facilitates Fe 3+ /Fe 2+ redox cycling to promote efficient PMS activation. Radical quenching experiments and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy further identified SO₄· − , 1 O₂, and O₂· − as the primary reactive species.