Atomic H* Production Amplified by Precisely Tailored Ag–Pt Dual-Atom Synergy: Crucial Roles in 6PPD Detoxification for Water Purification
<i>N</i>-(1,3-Dimethylbutyl)-<i>N'</i>-phenyl-<i>p</i>-phenylenediamine (6PPD) forms the highly toxic quinone analogue 6PPD-Q during the Fenton processes, posing risks to aquatic organisms and humans. To bridge this gap, we optimally designed Ag-Pt dual-atom catalysts (DACs) that harness visible-light-induced interfacial charge transfer to enhance atomic H<b>*</b> generation, thereby directing 6PPD detoxification through direct hydrogenation of benzene rings (to terminate 6PPD-Q formation) and selective enhancement of hydroxyl radical (<sup>•</sup>OH) activation in a Fenton-like process. Multiple lines of evidence demonstrated that photoexcitation enables directional electron transfer from Ag to Pt, boosting the generation of atomic H*, a single-electron donor that spontaneously activates a Fenton-like process without secondary pollution, selectively facilitating <sup>•</sup>OH generation for further 6PPD detoxification. Intermediate identification and ecotoxicity assessment reconfirmed 6PPD detoxification without 6PPD-Q accumulation. This study offers mechanistic insights into DAC-enhanced atomic H<b>*</b> generation under visible light and achieves complete detoxification of 6PPD within the Fenton-like process.
Authors
- Wanbing Zheng
- Zihan Shen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0001-9549-0908)
- Harald Horn
- Shuna Fu
- Han-Qing Yu
- Luming Wei
- Junxing Liu
- Wenjie Mai
- Shibo Zhu
- Yue Xie
- Xinzhi Wang
- Chao Zhang
- Yiyun Xie
- Mingzhi Huang
Institutions
- Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (DE)
- University of Science and Technology of China (CN)
- South China Normal University (CN)
- CAS Key Laboratory of Urban Pollutant Conversion (CN)
- Agilent Technologies (Australia) (AU)
- DVGW-Forschungsstelle am Engler-Bunte-Institut des Karlsruher Instituts für Technologie (DE)
- Nano Carbon (Poland) (PL)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Environmental Science & Technology
- Published
- 2026-03-02
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.5c13091
- Primary Topic
- Advanced oxidation water treatment
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00