Harnessing air-water interface to generate interfacial ROS for ultrafast environmental remediation

This study investigates the generation of reactive oxidative species (ROS) at the air-water interface of microbubbles using an amphiphilic single-Co-atom catalyst (Co@SCN) and peroxymonosulfate (PMS). The Co@SCN catalyst efficiently transports PMS to the interface, triggering accelerated generation of sulfate radicals (SO₄⁻) with a 20-fold higher concentration than in the bulk solution. SO₄⁻ preferentially resides at the interface due to low free energy and hydrogen bonding with H₃O⁺, exhibiting significantly higher oxidation reactivity toward gaseous pollutants like toluene. This approach demonstrates a promising strategy for accelerating ROS-induced reactions at the air-water interface for environmental remediation.

Ruijie Xie, Kaiheng Guo, Yong Li, Yingguang Zhang, Huanran Zhong, Dennis Y. C. Leung, Haibao Huang