Electrochemical Degradation of Triclosan at a Ti/SnO₂‐Sb/Ce‐PbO₂ Anode

Abstract

Electrochemical degradation of an emerging contaminant, triclosan (5‐chloro‐2‐(2,4‐dichlorophenoxy) phenol) by a Ti/SnO 2 ‐Sb/Ce‐PbO 2 anode was investigated. The degradation efficiency attained >99.9% during 5 min of electrolysis at all influential factors, i.e ., applied current density (2–10 mA/cm 2 ), pH 3–11, inter‐electrode distance (1–4 cm), initial concentration (0.5–5 mg/L triclosan) and supporting electrolyte (10 mmol/L NaCl). Total organic carbon removal ratio achieved 79.7% at the optimal conditions after 2 min of electrolysis. The electrochemical degradation of triclosan followed pseudo‐first‐order kinetics. The intermediate products namely 2,4‐dichlorophenol, 5‐chloro‐3‐(chlorohydroquinone) phenol and 2‐chloro‐5‐(2,4‐dichlorophenoxy) benzene‐1,4‐diol were prominently detected using liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry. A degradation mechanism of triclosan at the Ti/SnO 2 ‐Sb/Ce‐PbO 2 anode was proposed based on the intermediates. The energy consumption of triclosan (4 mg/L) degradation at different electrode distances (1–4 cm) was 0.466–2.225 kWh m −3 . The Ti/SnO 2 ‐Sb/Ce‐PbO 2 anodes can be employed preliminary for rapid degradation of triclosan in wastewater.