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High surface area modified Ti-felt electrodes for the degradation of polystyrene nanoplastics
Summary
Scientists have developed a new type of electrode that can break down nanoplastics (tiny plastic particles smaller than a human cell) in water using an electric current, destroying up to 90% of them in under two hours. This matters because nanoplastics are increasingly found in our water supplies and have been linked to health concerns, so having an efficient way to remove them could lead to better water treatment technology in the future.
Ti-felt electrodes with high surface area have been used as supports of electroactive coatings (Pt and SnO 2 -Sb-Pt). The electrodes obtained have been employed for the electrochemical oxidation of polystyrene nanoplastics (NPs) (100 nm) in solution. Voltammetric characterization of the electrodes with Ru(NH 3 ) 6 Cl 3 and K 3 Fe(CN) 6 redox mediators showed a substantial increase in the redox peaks' current density compared to the boron-doped diamond electrode. For example, this increase was >68-fold for the SnO 2 -Sb-Pt electrode when using the Ru(NH 3 ) 6 Cl 3 redox mediator. This can be attributed to the enhanced surface area of Ti-felt, composed of 20 μm diameter fibers, and the roughness of the electrocatalyst coatings. Voltammetric characterization of Ti-Pt and Ti-SnO 2 -Sb-Pt in 0.03 M Na 2 SO 4 media showed an increase in the anodic current density when adding NPs, which would account for a direct mechanism of electrooxidation of the electrode. •OH, S 2 O 8 2− , H 2 O 2 , and O 3 generation were also determined for both types of electrodes. The degradation of NPs was monitored by fluorescence spectroscopy, taking advantage of the fluorescence of styrene. In addition, it was observed that the scattering of the second-order diffraction light (this phenomenon takes place in the diffraction grating of the monochromator) by NPs could also be used to monitor the evolution of the NPs concentration in solution. The electrochemical degradation of polystyrene NPs was faster with SnO 2 -Sb-Pt modified Ti-felt based electrodes than with the Pt-modified one (reaching 90 % degradation in 100 and 210 min at 25 mA·cm −2 , respectively). Electrochemical energy consumption per order was also lower for SnO 2 -Sb-Pt-modified electrodes.