Engineering Anode Architectures for Efficient Electrochemical Advanced Oxidation: From Material Innovations to Wastewater Treatment

The growing release of toxic and refractory organic contaminants from industrial activities threatens both aquatic ecosystems and human health, driving the urgent need for more effective wastewater treatment technologies. Traditional biological, physical, and chemical approaches are often hampered by drawbacks such as partial mineralization, excessive energy demand, and secondary pollution. In this context, electrochemical advanced oxidation processes (EAOPs) offer a promising solution by enabling in situ generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), directly in situ for efficient degradation of pollutants. This review provides a comprehensive overview of recent progress in anode materials and structural design strategies aimed at improving the performance of EAOPs in treating organic wastewater. Emphasis is placed on how electrode architecture, compositional tuning, and surface functionalization enhance catalytic activity, ROS yield, charge transfer, and durability. Furthermore, the complex relationships among material properties, operational factors, and wastewater matrices are analyzed. By establishing a structure-performance-mechanism relationship, this review offers design guidelines and insights for the development of next-generation electrodes, seeking to advance the transition from laboratory studies to real-world sustainable wastewater treatment.