Ternary Co…Ov…Cu sites trigger Co-utilization of endogenous electron donor-acceptor for sustainable removal of refractory low-carbon fatty amines in Fenton-like system

Herein, we fabricated CoCu-0.25-Ov with ternary Co…Ov…Cu sites through simple co-precipitation to achieve effective co-utilization of organics and dissolved oxygen (DO) as endogenous electron donor-acceptor in Fenton-like system. Around 100% of dimethylamine (DMA) min within 30 is removed. The involved kinetics (0.22 min−1) and oxidant utilization efficiency (22.5%) are higher than controls with binary sites. Multi-scaled characterizations and theoretical calculations reveal that electron-polarized Co…Ov…Cu sites facilitate co-activation of DMA and DO as electron donor-acceptor through increasing d-band center and lowering work function of catalyst. Meanwhile, ternary sites favor 1O2 and SO4•− generation, and shorten the migration distance of active species to pollutant, thus achieving excellent dual performance improvements. Semi-quantitative results of ESR indicate that DO activation and peroxymonosulfate (PMS) oxidation contribute about three-fourths and one-fourth to 1O2 production, respectively. This contribution provides a new and sustainable strategy for high-efficiency and oxidant-saving removal of refractory pollutants in the environment.