Reconfiguring interfacial hydrogen-bond networks to enhance anodic oxidation for efficient wastewater treatment.

Fe3+-reconfigured interfacial water hydrogen-bond networks at the electrode increase hydroxyl radical (•OH) concentration 7-fold, expanding anodic oxidation scope for emerging contaminants.

• Why it matters: Sluggish interfacial water-splitting kinetics limit •OH formation and the oxidation range, constraining anodic oxidation’s industrial scalability for wastewater containing isothiazolinone antimicrobials.
• What they did: The approach uses Fe3+ to tune electrode-surface water structure, where [Fe(OH)(H2O)5]2+ shifts 4-HB-H2O motifs from 21% to 37% and weakens O–H bonds.
• The result: The reconfigured hydrogen-bond structure enables non-selective degradation with stable 500 hours of flow operation and ~95% removal efficiency, while reducing cost by 44.3% versus boron-doped diamond electrodes.

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