Significantly improved H2O2 utilization efficiency over CuFeO2 Fenton-like catalyst through elevating Lewis acidity

The reaction activity of CuFeO2 as Fenton-like catalyst ways suffered from the low H2O2 utilization efficiency. For this issue, CuFeO2@ZnO with core-shell structure was prepared via the hydrothermal method. The optimal catalyst CuFeO2@ZnO(20:4) exhibited a 2.6-fold higher H2O2 utilization efficiency compared with the pristine CuFeO2. Consequently, the degradation activity towards sulfathiazole correspondingly increased by 4.7 times. Meanwhile, the degradation rates of tetracycline and ciprofloxacin were up to 100 % and 84.13 %, which showed the universality of degradation. Combined with the results of ICP-MS, it can be seen that the core-shell structure can effectively immobilize reactive metal ions and inhibit their leaching. The TPD-NH3, phosphate capture experiments and DFT calculations demonstrated that ZnO could increase the Lewis acidity on the surface of CuFeO2, promote the adsorption of H2O2, and enhance the transport rate between H2O2 and CuFeO2 to significantly improve the utilization of H2O2. Lewis acid promotes Fe(III)/Fe(II) cycling as shown by XPS and impedance. Based on the synergistic effect of promoting H2O2 adsorption and Fe species recycling. Significantly enhanced Fenton-like degradation activity of CuFeO2@ZnO(20:4). This study provides a new perspective to improve the degradation activity of CuFeO2-based catalysts. [Display omitted] •ZnO was ultilized to elevate the Lewis acidity of CuFeO2.•Lewis acid significantly promotes H2O2 adsorption and Fe(III)/Fe(II) cycling.•H2O2 utilization increased to 63.85 %, a 2.6-fold improvement.•The degradation activity towards sulfathiazole was enhanced by 4.7 times.•The core-shell structure inhibits metal leaching.