Citation: Hongqing Zhu, Hui Ma, Ruixing Tang, Lanxin Xu, Zhiliang Zhao, Dong Yu, Joïce Rold Yannice Ibarhat Okobo, Shengyan Pu. Regulating competitive co-adsorption on biochar to expedite peroxydisulfate activation and electron transfer oxidation of organic pollutants[J]. Chinese Chemical Letters, ;2026, 37(12): 112694. doi: 10.1016/j.cclet.2026.112694 shu

Regulating competitive co-adsorption on biochar to expedite peroxydisulfate activation and electron transfer oxidation of organic pollutants

Hongqing Zhu ^{a, b} ,
Hui Ma ^{a, b} ,
Ruixing Tang ^a ,
Lanxin Xu ^a ,
Zhiliang Zhao ^a ,
Dong Yu ^{a, b} ,
Joïce Rold Yannice Ibarhat Okobo ^a ,
Shengyan Pu ^{a, b, c, *,}

a.
State Key Laboratory of Geohazard Prevention and Geoenvironment Protection, Chengdu University of Technology, Chengdu 610059, China
b.
Tianfu Jiangxi Laboratory, Chengdu 610059, China
c.
State Key Laboratory of Environmental Criteria and Risk Assessment, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing 100012, China

pushengyan@gmail.com

Received Date: 25 September 2025
Revised Date: 6 January 2026
Accepted Date: 27 March 2026
Available Online: 28 March 2026

Figures(6)

Biochar-activated peroxydisulfate (PDS) is an effective method for remediating contaminated groundwater via adsorption and electron transfer oxidation. Yet, PDS has traditionally been regarded primarily as an oxidant rather than a competitive adsorbent. Competitive adsorption might both enhance the overall catalytic degradation efficiency and induce a redistribution of pollutants at the biochar interface. This uncertainty results in the regulation of pollutant adsorption and degradation behavior remaining unclear. This study employed an adsorption-desorption approach to quantify the critical role of competitive co-adsorption in regulating the electron-transfer oxidation process of atrazine (ATZ) in biochar/PDS systems. Biochar was synthesized at pyrolysis temperatures of 500, 700, and 900 ℃ (denoted as SS500, SS700, and SS900, respectively). The SS900 showed superior removal efficiency for ATZ (Q_m = 86.93 mg/g), driven by electrostatic attraction, hydrogen bonding, and pore-filling. Following the addition of PDS, competitive adsorption on the biochar interface first redistributed ATZ, causing 20.49% of it to desorb into the aqueous phase. Subsequently, the co-adsorption of PDS and ATZ on the biochar surface enabled the degradation of ATZ. The process shifted the removal pathway of ATZ from being adsorption-dominated (~45% adsorption and 0% degradation) to degradation-dominated (~76.42% degradation and ~15.41% adsorption). Based on electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), galvanic cell experiments, and LC-MS analysis results, the electron transfer oxidation (ETO) involving C=O groups and graphitic structures was the dominant pathway for ATZ degradation. Density functional theory (DFT) calculation and a quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) analysis revealed that the co-adsorption process of ATZ and PDS on biochar is a critical step driving ETO of ATZ. The results proposed a new promising methodology for precisely unraveling interfacial reaction mechanisms in situ chemical oxidation (ISCO) processes.
- Biochar,
- Adsorption-degradation,
- Electron transfer oxidation,
- Peroxydisulfate activation,
- Atrazine removal
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