Efficient PH3 Removal over Cu-doped Active Carbon with Stable Active Cu2+ Species Enabled by Nitrogen Modification

The effective elimination of the highly toxic phosphine (PH3) is crucial for environmental and human health. Nonetheless, developing efficient methods for the removal of PH3 and its conversion into valuable resources remains a significant challenge. Herein, we reported a novel strategy of N doping in Cu-doped active carbon (Cu-AC) to realize efficient PH3 removal. Introduction of N into Cu-AC induces strong interaction between Cu and N, which greatly promotes the dispersion of Cu species and stabilize the active Cu2+ species of PH3 removal due to the electronegativity of N. In addition, doping N also improves the basic intensity and oxidation capability, which provide high benefits for the adsorption and activation of PH3. As a result, the obtained N-doped Cu-AC (Cu-N-AC) shows exceptional performance for the oxidative removal of PH3 to generate H3PO4 at 70 °C, reaching a high breakthrough capacity of 534.5 mg·g-1, which outperforms most of the previously reported catalysts. The Cu-N-AC can be easily regenerated through water washing and air drying, showcasing its great potential for practical applications. This study not only introduces a promising material for PH3 removal, but also offers an innovative approach to design catalysts for efficient PH3 utilization, presenting an important contribution to the field of phosphorus resource recovery.