Self-supported antimony tin oxide anode with Sb segregation promoted atrazine removal

Abstract

Electrochemical oxidation is a sustainable approach to remove persistent organic pollutants, while suffers from slow reaction transfer. Herein, a robust self-supported antimony tin oxide anode was developed by compaction-sintering process with engineer fiber as pore-forming reagent and second binder. The obtained EF-ATO anode presented Sb segregation induced built-in electric field (BIEF), realizing 95% removal efficiency of atrazine (ATZ) in 30 min. Kinetics, Kelvin probe force microscopy, and in-situ EPR included analysis revealed that BIEF accelerated reaction charge transfer for the co-generation of three reactive oxygen species, contributing to the highly efficient ATZ removal. Furthermore, robust EF-ATO exhibited low energy consumption, high durability over 10-times cycling tests, and wide applicability in pH and pollutant type. Thus, EF-ATO possessed high potential as a promising candidate for the persistent organic pollutants’ eco-removal. This work provides an approach for designing robust self-supported metal oxide-based anodes and reveals an electrochemical oxidation process promoted by doping metal segregation induced BIEF.