Overall
- Language
- English
- Conflict of Interest
- In relation to this article, we declare that there is no conflict of interest.
- Publication history
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Received January 28, 2026
Accepted April 24, 2026
Available online August 25, 2026
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This is an Open-Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/bync/3.0) which permits
unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Most Cited
Tetrabromobisphenol A Degradation by a Photoelectrocatalytic System with a Carbon Layer-Protected Cuprous Oxide Cathode: Performance and Promoting Mechanism
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11814-026-00733-z
Abstract
Tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA), as the most widely used brominated flame retardant, was characterized by its recalcitrance
to degradation and bioaccumulation. To address this limitation, a carbon layer-protected Cu2O (C-Cu2O/Cu) cathode
was fabricated via in-situ chemical oxidation and calcination followed by glucose impregnation-carbonization, which was
subsequently coupled with silver-loaded TiO2 (Ag-TiO2/Ti) anode prepared by anodic oxidation and photodeposition to
construct an efficient photoelectrocatalytic (PEC) system. By optimizing preparation parameters such as impregnation
concentration and calcination temperature, the photocurrent density of the C-Cu2O/Cu cathode was enhanced to 2.6 times
higher than that of Cu2O/Cu, and it maintained stable performance during 1200 s of light on/off cycles, contrasting with
the rapid decay of Cu2O/Cu. Within the PEC system, the C-Cu2O/Cu photocathode achieved a TBBPA degradation efficiency
of 97.1%, significantly surpassing the 87.2% of Cu2O/Cu. Systematic investigation of various applied voltages,
pH levels, and electrolyte concentrations revealed that the optimal operating parameters were a 1.5 V bias, pH 9.5 and
0.05 mol/L Na2SO4. Radical trapping experiments confirmed that hydroxyl radicals (·OH) and superoxide radicals (·O2
−
)
served as the primary reactive species, while GC–MS analysis elucidated the degradation pathway involving debromination,
ring cleavage, and mineralization. This study provided a novel strategy for enhancing the stability of Cu2O photoelectrodes
and achieving efficient degradation of persistent organic pollutants with the PEC system.
