Degradation Efficiency and Mechanism Exploration of an Fe78Si9B13 Metallic Glass Cathode in the Electro-Fenton Degradation of p-NP

Fe-based metallic glass (MG) exhibits excellent performance as a heterogeneous catalyst in degradation but is rarely used as a working electrode in electro-Fenton (EF) systems. We used Fe₇₈Si₉B₁₃ MG as the working electrode to investigate the effect of the EF process on the degradation efficiency of p-nitrophenol (p-NP). The EF system had the highest catalytic efficiency (the reaction rate was 3.4 times that of chemical degradation) at a voltage of -1 V (vs. SCE) and showed 95.6% degradation of p-NP within 30 min. The electrode voltage accelerated the generation of hydroxyl radicals (·OH) in the system, thus promoting pollutant degradation. In addition, the Fe₇₈Si₉B₁₃ MG cathode demonstrated good structural stability and reusability after 10 cycles. Fe₇₈Si₉B₁₃ MG ribbons can serve as a suitable cathode material and provide potential optimization solutions for the degradation of organic pollutants.