Orbital coupling in bridge-mediated FeCu dual-atom catalysts for water decontamination
- 1Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution Control and Remediation Technology, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
- 2Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution Control and Remediation Technology, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China. [email protected]
Abstract
Dual-atom catalysts (DACs) hold significant promise for advanced oxidation processes. However, their practical application is often limited by sluggish electron transfer and low atomic utilization efficiency. Herein, we report that P-bridged Fe-Cu bimetallic catalysts (FeCu-NP-C) were precisely modulated by first-shell N and P ligands, forming a unique N 3 Fe-P 1 -CuN 3 structure. The Fe-P-Cu bridging bond induced d-p-d gradient orbital coupling to establish a directional electron-transfer channel from the Cu site (electron donor) to the Fe site (electron acceptor) for enabling ultrafast pollutant degradation and bacterial inactivation. FeCu-NP-C activated peroxymonosulfate to selectively generate high-valent iron-oxo species at a concentration of 5.80 × 10 − 5 mM, which was 100 times higher than that of Fe-NP-C. Remarkably, the FeCu-NP-C membrane reactor achieved a treatment capacity of 500 L of wastewater per gram of catalyst over 100 h, at an operational cost of US$0.055 per ton. This work provides deep insights into the bridge-mediated orbital interactions of DACs for water decontamination.
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BibTeX
@article{zhu2026orbital,
title = {{Orbital coupling in bridge-mediated FeCu dual-atom catalysts for water decontamination}},
author = {Ke Zhu and Yuheng Yao and Yongjian Zeng and B Q Liu and Huiming Wen and Yuchen Wang and Kai Yan},
journal = {Nature Communications},
year = {2026},
month = jul,
doi = {10.1038/s41467-026-75032-6},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-75032-6},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Orbital coupling in bridge-mediated FeCu dual-atom catalysts for water decontamination
AU - Ke Zhu
AU - Yuheng Yao
AU - Yongjian Zeng
AU - B Q Liu
AU - Huiming Wen
AU - Yuchen Wang
AU - Kai Yan
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/07/08
JO - Nature Communications
DO - 10.1038/s41467-026-75032-6
UR - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-75032-6
AB - Dual-atom catalysts (DACs) hold significant promise for advanced oxidation processes. However, their practical application is often limited by sluggish electron transfer and low atomic utilization efficiency. Herein, we report that P-bridged Fe-Cu bimetallic catalysts (FeCu-NP-C) were precisely modulated by first-shell N and P ligands, forming a unique N 3 Fe-P 1 -CuN 3 structure. The Fe-P-Cu bridging bond induced d-p-d gradient orbital coupling to establish a directional electron-transfer channel from the Cu site (electron donor) to the Fe site (electron acceptor) for enabling ultrafast pollutant degradation and bacterial inactivation. FeCu-NP-C activated peroxymonosulfate to selectively generate high-valent iron-oxo species at a concentration of 5.80 × 10 − 5 mM, which was 100 times higher than that of Fe-NP-C. Remarkably, the FeCu-NP-C membrane reactor achieved a treatment capacity of 500 L of wastewater per gram of catalyst over 100 h, at an operational cost of US$0.055 per ton. This work provides deep insights into the bridge-mediated orbital interactions of DACs for water decontamination.
SN - 2041-1723
ER -