Mechanism of nitrogen-doped biochar activated peroxymonosulfate for degradation of 2,4-dichlorophenol

Biochar activated peroxymonosulfate has been widely used to degrade organic pollutants. However, the chemical inertness of the sp2 hybrid conjugated carbon framework and the limited number of active sites on the pristine biochar resulted in the low catalytic activity of the system, restricting its further application. In this study, nitrogen-doped biochar was prepared following a simple one-step synthesis method taking advantage of the similar atomic radius and significant difference in electronegativity of N and C atoms to explore the properties and mechanisms of biochar-mediated peroxymonosulfate activation to degrade 2,4-dichlorophenol. Results from degradation experiments revealed that the catalytic efficiency of the prepared nitrogen-doped biochar was approximately 37.8 times higher than that of the undoped biochar. Quenching experiments combined with Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) analysis illustrated that the generated singlet oxygen (1O2) and superoxide anion radical (O2•−) were the main reactive oxidative species that dominated the target organics removal processes. This work will provide a theoretical basis for expanding the practical application of nitrogen-doped biochar to remediate water pollution via peroxymonosulfate activation.