Constructing an Acidic Microenvironment by MoS₂ in Heterogeneous Fenton Reaction for Pollutant Control

Abstract

Although Fenton or Fenton-like reactions have been widely used in the environment, biology, life science, and other fields, the sharp decrease in their activity under macroneutral conditions is still a large problem. This study reports a MoS₂ cocatalytic heterogeneous Fenton (CoFe₂ O₄ /MoS₂ ) system capable of sustainably degrading organic pollutants, such as phenol, in a macroneutral buffer solution. An acidic microenvironment in the slipping plane of CoFe₂ O₄ is successfully constructed by chemically bonding with MoS₂ . This microenvironment is not affected by the surrounding pH, which ensures the stable circulation of Fe³⁺ /Fe²⁺ on the surface of CoFe₂ O₄ /MoS₂ under neutral or even alkaline conditions. Additionally, CoFe₂ O₄ /MoS₂ always exposes "fresh" active sites for the decomposition of H₂ O₂ and the generation of ¹ O₂ , effectively inhibiting the production of iron sludge and enhancing the remediation of organic pollutants, even in actual wastewater. This work not only experimentally verifies the existence of an acidic microenvironment on the surface of heterogeneous catalysts for the first time, but also eliminates the pH limitation of the Fenton reaction for pollutant remediation, thereby expanding the applicability of Fenton technology.