Reconfiguring interfacial hydrogen-bond networks to enhance anodic oxidation for efficient wastewater treatment
Abstract
Anodic oxidation is a pivotally electrochemical technology for wastewater treatment containing emerging contaminants such as isothiazolinone antimicrobials, but sluggish interfacial water-splitting kinetics for hydroxyl radical (•OH) formation and a limited oxidation range, constrain its industrial scalability. This study leverages Fe ³⁺ to strengthen interfacial water hydrogen bond, accelerating •OH formation and high-valent iron production, thus enhancing oxidation kinetics and scope. [Fe(OH)(H ₂ O) ₅ ] ²⁺ enhances the hydrogen-bond (H-bond) population at the electrode surface—particularly 4-HB-H ₂ O motifs increase from 21% to 37% and weakens O–H bonds, due to its strong hydration and polarization ability. This reconfigured interfacial water H-bond structure markedly enhances water dissociation, leading to a 7-fold increase in the •OH concentration. Ultimately, Fe ³⁺ -mediated precise tuning of the H-bond network of water molecules enables non-selective degradation of diverse emerging contaminants, delivering stable long-term flow operation of 500 hours with ~95% removal efficiency maintained for contaminant. The system achieves a 44.3% cost reduction relative to conventional boron-doped diamond electrodes, establishing a convenient approach for industrial-scale electrochemical water treatment.
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BibTeX
@article{liu2026reconfiguring,
title = {{Reconfiguring interfacial hydrogen-bond networks to enhance anodic oxidation for efficient wastewater treatment}},
author = {Tong Liu and Shuang Zhong and Xiaotong Liang and Hongrui Zhu and Ye Du and Bo Lai},
journal = {Nature Communications},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1038/s41467-026-78208-2},
url = {https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-026-78208-2},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Reconfiguring interfacial hydrogen-bond networks to enhance anodic oxidation for efficient wastewater treatment
AU - Tong Liu
AU - Shuang Zhong
AU - Xiaotong Liang
AU - Hongrui Zhu
AU - Ye Du
AU - Bo Lai
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/05
JO - Nature Communications
DO - 10.1038/s41467-026-78208-2
UR - https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-026-78208-2
AB - Anodic oxidation is a pivotally electrochemical technology for wastewater treatment containing emerging contaminants such as isothiazolinone antimicrobials, but sluggish interfacial water-splitting kinetics for hydroxyl radical (•OH) formation and a limited oxidation range, constrain its industrial scalability. This study leverages Fe ³⁺ to strengthen interfacial water hydrogen bond, accelerating •OH formation and high-valent iron production, thus enhancing oxidation kinetics and scope. [Fe(OH)(H ₂ O) ₅ ] ²⁺ enhances the hydrogen-bond (H-bond) population at the electrode surface—particularly 4-HB-H ₂ O motifs increase from 21% to 37% and weakens O–H bonds, due to its strong hydration and polarization ability. This reconfigured interfacial water H-bond structure markedly enhances water dissociation, leading to a 7-fold increase in the •OH concentration. Ultimately, Fe ³⁺ -mediated precise tuning of the H-bond network of water molecules enables non-selective degradation of diverse emerging contaminants, delivering stable long-term flow operation of 500 hours with ~95% removal efficiency maintained for contaminant. The system achieves a 44.3% cost reduction relative to conventional boron-doped diamond electrodes, establishing a convenient approach for industrial-scale electrochemical water treatment.
SN - 2041-1723
ER -