Nanomaterials (Apr 2024)

In Situ Electrochemical Synthesis of Squamous-like Cu<sub>2</sub>S Induced by Sulfate-Reducing Bacteria as a Fenton-like Catalyst in Wastewater Treatment: Catalytic Performance and Mechanism

  • Liuhui Zhao,
  • Zihao Li,
  • Jing Yang,
  • Jiawen Sun,
  • Xiaofan Zhai,
  • Fubin Ma,
  • Jizhou Duan,
  • Peng Ju,
  • Baorong Hou

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/nano14070621
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 14, no. 7
p. 621

Abstract

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In this paper, a novel method was proposed for the synthesis of Cu2S on copper mesh via electrolysis in SRB culture medium. It was found that following electrolysis in SRB medium, squamous-like Cu2S arrays were obtained on the copper mesh, and the Cu2S loading contents varied with the electrolyzing parameters. The resultant Cu2S on copper mesh in SRB (CSCM-SRB) with the highest catalytic MB degradation properties was produced by electrolysis at 3.75 mA/cm2 for 900 s. The optimized MB-degrading conditions were determined to be 1.2 cm2/mL CSCM-SRB with 0.05 M H2O2 at 35 °C when pH = 6, under which the degradation of MB reached over 99% after 120 min of reaction. Disinfecting properties was also proven by antibacterial tests, revealing that an almost 100% antibacterial rate against E. coli was obtained after 8 min. The organic compounds produced by SRB adsorbed on CSCM-SRB strongly promoted the degradation of MB. Furthermore, possible Fenton-like mechanisms of CSCM-SRB were proposed, illustrating that ·O2−, ·OH, and 1O2 acted as the main functional species during Fenton-like reactions, leading to effective MB degradation and high antibacterial properties. Finally, a simple device for wastewater treatment was designed, providing possible applications in real environments.

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