In situ construction of ZnFe-layered double oxides on biochar for improving interfacial adsorption-catalysis of ozone achieves efficient water purification

ZnFe-layered double oxides@biochar (ZnFe-LDO@BC) was constructed by in situ derivation of the ZnFe-LDH on biochar (BC) through a simple co-pyrolysis method for heterogeneous catalytic ozonation (HCO) progress. The dual-engine driven interface adsorption-catalysis of ozone (O₃) on ZnFe-LDO@BC achieved durable organic water decontamination. The O₃/ZnFe-LDO@BC system enhanced the utilization of O₃ and the yield of hydroxyl radicals (·OH), thus greatly benefiting organic pollutants removal. Moreover, the enrichment of O₃ and pollutants at the ZnFe-LDO@BC interface overcame the interpretation of the coexistence component, and showed unique advantages compared to traditional catalytic systems. In situ ATR-FTIR experiment and computational studies unveiled that the in situ formed Fe sites on LDO readily adsorbed H₂O to form surface -OH and thus reacted with adsorbed O₃, and mediated the ·OH dominant HCO process. The O₃/ZnFe-LDO@BC system induced non-toxic degradation of pollutants. The constructed interfacial adsorption-catalysis system proposed a new ideal for the development of HCO technology, and provided a solution approach for technical bottlenecks.