MOF-derived Co/Fe@NPC-500 with large amounts of low-valent metals as an electro-Fenton cathode for efficient degradation of ceftazidime

A MOF-derived carbon material containing CoFe alloy (Co/Fe@NPC-500) by calcining N-doped Co/Fe bimetallic MOF at a lower temperature was successfully synthesized as a cathode in electro-Fenton process for ceftazidime (CAZ) degradation. The presence of Co could accelerate the transfer of electrons from C atoms of carbon material to Fe, thus increasing the content of low-valent metals in the material, which had been demonstrated by characterizations and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Thanks to the integrity of the MOF structure, the synergistic effect between Fe and Co, Co/Fe@NPC-500 cathode showed efficient removal efficiency for CAZ completely removed within 60 min and obtained a total organic carbon (TOC) removal rate of 52.1% at 90 min. Besides, based on the results of HPLC-MS and DFT calculations, the degradation pathway of CAZ was proposed. This study provides some useful information for the preparation of MOF-derived carbon materials containing low-valent metals for electro-Fenton process.