Enhancing the activation of persulfate using nitrogen-doped carbon materials in the electric field for the effective removal of p-nitrophenol

Degradation of nonbiodegradable organic compounds into harmless substances is one of the main challenges in environmental protection. Electrically-activated persulfate process has served as an efficient advanced oxidation process (AOP) to degrade organic compounds. In this study, we synthesized three nitrogen-doped carbon materials, namely, nitrogen-doped activated carbon plus graphene (NC), and nitrogen-doped activated carbon (NAC), nitrogen-doped graphene (NGE), and three nitrogen-doped carbon material-graphite felt (GF) cathodes. The three nitrogen-doped carbon materials (NC, NGE, NAC) were characterized using X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, X-ray electron spectroscopy, and nitrogen desorption–adsorption. The electron spin resonance technique was used to identify the presence of hydroxyl radicals (˙OH), sulfate radicals (SO(4)˙(−)) and singlet oxygen ((1)O(2)) species. The results showed that NC was more conducive for the production of free radicals. In addition, we applied NC-GF to an electro-activated persulfate system with the degradation of p-nitrophenol and investigated its performance for contaminant degradation under different conditions. In general, the nitrogen-doped carbon electrode electro-activated persulfate process is a promising way to treat organic pollutants in wastewater.