Performance of boron-doped graphene aerogel modified gas diffusion electrode for in-situ metal-free electrochemical advanced oxidation of Bisphenol A

[Display omitted] •Novel BGA-GDEs was first applied for BPA degradation in in-situ metal-free EAOPs.•The boron-doping in graphene nanosheets enhanced the activation of H2O2 toward •OH.•BGA-GDEs exhibited remarkable catalytic performance to BPA and outstanding stability.•Metal-free EAOPs on BGA-GDEs enlarged pH range and avoided metal pollution than EF. Exploring the application of efficient metal-free catalysts in electrochemical advanced oxidation process (EAOPs) is of practical significance for environmental pollution treatment. Herein, the novel boron-doped graphene aerogel (BGA) modified gas diffusion electrode (GDEs) was prepared, characterized, and employed for bisphenol A (BPA) degradation in nonmetallic EAOPs. Boron doping could promote electrode property with a complete BPA removal within 60 min, which was attributed to the enhancement of H2O2 in-situ decomposition to •OH. An appropriate proportion of BGA (2.4%) represented more positive onset potential, favoring the remarkable improvement of oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) activity. The metal-free EAOPs on BGA-GDEs manifested smaller change in reaction rate (0.0952 min−1) compared with that of traditional Electro-Fenton (EF) process (0.19115 min−1) when the initial pH increased from 3.0 to 9.0, revealing that the catalytic activity of this metal-free system exhibited excellent stability over a wide pH range. In addition, the overwhelming superiority of stability was certified. Hence, the in-situ metal-free electrocatalysis on BGA-GDEs could be considered as an environment-friendly pollutant removal system without risk of metal contamination.