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It is imperative to devise effective removal strategies for high ionization potential (IP) organic pollutants in wastewater as their reduced electron-donating capacity challenges the efficiency of advanced oxidation systems in degradation. Against this backdrop, leveraging the metal-based carbon material structure meticulously, we employed metal-pyridine-N (M-N-C, M=Fe, Co, and Ni) as the electron transfer bridge. This distinctive design facilitated the ordered transfer of electrons from the adsorbent surface to the surface of high IP value pollutants, acting as a "supplement" to compensate for their deficient electron-donating capability, thereby culminating in the selective adsorption of these pollutants. Furthermore, this adsorbent also demonstrated effective removal of trace emerging contaminants (2 mg/L), displayed robust resistance to various salts, exhibited reusability, and maintained stability. These findings carry substantial implications for future carbon-based material design, offering a pathway toward exceptional adsorption performance in treating water pollution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Creating efficient catalysts for simultaneous H2O2 generation and pollutant degradation is vital. Piezocatalytic H2O2 synthesis offers a promising alternative to traditional methods but faces challenges like sacrificial reagents, harsh conditions, and low activity. In this study, we introduce a cobalt-loaded ZnO (CZO) piezocatalyst that efficiently generates H2O2 from H2O and O2 under ultrasonic (US) treatment in ambient aqueous conditions. The catalyst demonstrates exceptional performance with ~50.9% TOC removal of phenol and in situ generation of 1.3 mM H2O2, significantly outperforming pure ZnO. Notably, the CZO piezocatalyst maintains its H2O2 generation capability even after multiple cycles, showing continuous improvement (from 1.3 mM to 1.8 mM). This is attributed to the piezoelectric electrons promoting the generation of dynamic defects under US conditions, which in turn promotes the adsorption and activation of oxygen, thereby facilitating efficient H2O2 production, as confirmed by EPR spectrometry, XPS analysis, and DFT calculations. Moreover, the CZO piezocatalysts maintain outstanding performance in pollutant degradation and H2O2 production even after long periods of inactivity, and the deactivated catalyst due to metal ion dissolution could be rejuvenated by pH adjustment, offering a sustainable solution for wastewater purification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]