Defect-Engineered Layered Double Hydroxides for Enhanced Bisphenol-A Degradation

Bisphenol A (BPA), a pervasive exogenous endocrine disruptor, poses significant health risks to humans. In daily life, individuals are exposed to BPA through various pathways, with water bodies being a primary source of contamination. This widespread contamination highlights the urgent need for effective strategies to mitigate BPA pollution in our environment. Our work on advanced oxidation processes for BPA degradation using Peroxymonosulfate (PMS) activation by layered double hydroxides (LDH) has shown that the defects play a key role in the degradation enhacement.  Since the ratio between divalent and trivalent cations plays a pivotal role in the formation of the layered structure, and the coordination environment of Co and Cu critically influences the material’s catalytic degradation performance. We are modulating the pH to promote the oxidation of Co2+ to Co3+ and the generation of oxygen vacancies which are instrumental for enhancing the degradation rate. In addition, as an alternative methodology, we are promoting cation vacancies in CoFe-LDH. Here we propose to use X-ray absorption spectroscopy to study the oxidation state and the coordination of the metal cations in the different LDH materials. We will perform the measurements on the as-synthesized samples and on the samples after the BPA degradation reaction to understand the different degradation performances.