Rerouting charge transfer for pharmaceutical wastewater electrochemical treatment via interfacial cocatalyst modification.

Electrochemical oxidation stands as a pivotal technology for refractory wastewater treatment. However, the high cost and low elemental abundance of commercial electrodes limit its widespread application. This work tries to address this by introducing a charge-transfer rerouting strategy via cocatalyst modification using earth-abundant elements. Here, we uncover the role of the cocatalyst in enhancing electrode performance. The in-situ reconstructed cocatalyst induces a substantial rerouting of the charge transfer pathway, facilitating the mass/charge transfer of organics while concurrently suppressing the oxygen evolution side reaction. The Ti-Fe2O3 electrode, loaded with the cocatalyst PbO2, exhibits both high current efficiency (∼45.4 %) and low energy requirement (∼31.8 kW h kg-1 COD), surpassing other reported electrodes and displaying great versatility in various scenarios with good stability and reusability. Moreover, this charge-transfer rerouting strategy holds promise for synergy with other methodologies, such as nanostructure engineering and molecular imprinting, to further enhance the reactivity and selectivity of electrocatalysts in environment and energy-related domains.