Unraveling the Environmental Applications of Nanoporous Ultrananocrystalline Diamond Films

In this work, a nanoporous ultrananocrystalline diamond film (B-UNCDWS/TDNT/Ti) was obtained and compared with a commercial electrode in the degradation of methomyl, a recalcitrant pesticide. The morphological and structural differences between the materials were highlighted by SEM and XRD analysis: while the commercial electrode presented a regular and planar surface with microcrystalline grains, supported by XRD features, the B-UNCDWS/TDNT/Ti electrode presented a porous morphology with DRX features indicating a high film renucleation rate. Those differences affected the electrooxidation of methomyl; B-UNCDWS/TDNT/Ti was responsible for faster and more economic degradation of the pollutant, achieving a methomyl degradation of 78% (against 35% by the commercial electrode). The highly porous surface of UNCDWS/TDNT/Ti provides an electrochemical area threefold greater than the one found in the commercial electrode, justifying the better efficiency in the formation of persulfate, which can be singled out as the main mechanism in methomyl degradation.