[Modification of activated carbon fiber for electro-Fenton degradation of phenol]

Microwave-modified activated carbon fiber (ACF-1), nitric acid-modified activated carbon fiber (ACF-2), phosphoric acid-modified activated carbon fiber (ACF-3) and ammonia-modified activated carbon fiber (ACF-4) were successfully fabricated. The electro-Fenton catalytic activities of modified activated carbon fiber were evaluated using phenol as a model pollutant. H2O2 formation, COD removal efficiency and phenol removal efficiency were investigated compared with the unmodified activated carbon fiber (ACF-0). Results indicated that ACF-1 showed the best adsorption and electrocatalytic activity. Modification was in favor of the formation of H2O2. The performance of different systems on phenol degradation and COD removal were ACF-1ACF-3ACF-4ACF-2ACF-0 and ACF-1ACF-4ACF-3ACF-2ACF-0, respectively, which confirmed that electrocatalytic activities of modified activated carbon fiber were better than the unmodified. In addition, phenol intermediates were not the same while using different modified activated carbon fibers.