Abstract
<p style="text-align:justify; margin-bottom:11px"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="text-justify:inter-ideograph"><span style="line-height:107%"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Metal borate such as cobalt borate and iron borate has recently garnered renewed interest in electrocatalytic water splitting due to their peculiar electrochemical activity in replacing conventional noble metal catalysts. Our group is currently developing borate-related nanomaterials as photocatalysts utilizing the “free” and abundant solar energy for environmental remediation. Specifically, we have successfully synthesized and characterized carbon and nitrogen-doped iron borate (C, N-doped FeBO<sub>3</sub>) and cobalt borate (CoBi) as highly effective photocatalysts in activating H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub> (Fenton reaction) and peroxymonosulfate (PMS) in advanced oxidation processes (AOP), respectively. Herein, we will present the novel application of C, N-doped FeBO<sub>3</sub> with 10-fold and 26-fold increased photo-Fenton activity compared to the 50 nm iron oxides nanoparticles and the non-doped FeBO<sub>3 </sub>under simulated solar irradiation. Under the optimal conditions, 10 mg of the catalyst is shown to achieve effective degradation of 10 ppm methylene blue (MB) dye, Rhodamine B (RhB) dye, and tetracycline (TC) under simulated solar irradiation within 20 minutes. Moreover, the C, N-doped FeBO<sub>3</sub> was also found to degrade 75% of MB in the dark, allowing continuous degradation of pollutants in the dark and in areas with poor light exposure. On the other hand, the as synthesized CoBi demonstrated moderate photo-Fenton activity in a wide range of pH (3 – 7) and showed remarkable catalytic performance in activating PMS in dye degradation. While the exact mechanism of these metal borates in catalyzing these AOPs are currently underway, we believe that this study provides a facile and straightforward methodology in the preparation of a single-component catalyst with high efficiency.</span></span></span></span></span></p>