Complete dechlorination and mineralization of chlorophenols via the reduction−oxidation-mediated electro-Fenton process with a composite bulk cathode is first proposed. The in situ formation of a PdFe nanoalloy and carbon defects as key active sites is mutually induced during the formation of a carbon aerogel-based electrode. Specifically, the PdFe nanoalloy promotes the generation of [H] ads as reduction sites and improves the electron transfer via an electrical circuit, while the carbon defects selectively favor the 2e − oxygen reduction pathway. Notably, this work implies a novel electrocatalytic model for the formation of •OH via (2 + 1)e − oxygen reduction by a consecutive reaction with carbon defects and a PdFe nanoalloy. Complete total organic carbon removal and dechlorination of 3-chlorophenol were performed after 6 h. The kinetic rate constant for removing haloacetamides (HAMs) in drinking water was 0.21−0.41 h −1 , and the degradation efficiency was selfenhanced after electrolysis for 2 h because of the increased concentration of [H + ]. The specific energy consumption was ∼0.55 W•h• g −1 at 100% removal of some HAMs, corresponding to a power consumption of 0.6−1.1 kW•h for complete dehalogenation per ton of drinking water in waterworks. Moreover, the PdFe alloy/CA exhibited extreme mechanical and electrochemical stability with limited iron (∼0.07 ppm) and palladium (0.02 ppm) leaching during the actual application.

A COOH-terminated nitrogen-doped carbon aerogel exhibited 100% selectivity to two-electron oxygen reduction, exceeding reported carbonaceous and noble metal catalysts.

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Shifting four-electron (4e–) oxygen reduction in fuel cell technology to a two-electron (2e–) pathway with traditional iron–carbon electrodes is a critical step for hydroxyl radical (HO•) generation. Here, we fabricated iron–carbon aerogels with desired dimensions (e.g., 40 cm × 40 cm) as working electrodes containing atomic Fe sites and Fe3C subnanoclusters. Electron-donating Fe3C provides electrons to FeN4 through long-range activation for achieving the ideal electronic configuration, thereby optimizing the binding energy of the *OOH intermediate. With an iron–carbon aerogel benefiting from finely tuned electronic density, the selectivity of 2e– oxygen reduction increased from 10 to 90%. The resultant electrode exhibited unexpectedly efficient HO• production and fast elimination of organics. Notably, the kinetic constant k M for sulfamethoxazole (SMX) removal is 60 times higher than that in a traditional iron–carbon electrode. A flow-through pilot device with the iron–carbon aerogel (SA-Fe0.4NCA) was built to scale up micropolluted water decontamination. The initial total organic carbon (TOC) value of micropolluted water was 4.02 mg L–1, and it declined and maintained at 2.14 mg L–1, meeting the standards for drinking water quality in China. Meanwhile, the generation of emerging aromatic nitrogenous disinfection byproducts (chlorophenylacetonitriles) declined by 99.2%, satisfying the public safety of domestic water. This work provides guidance for developing electrochemical technologies to satisfy the flexible and economic demand for water purification, especially in water-scarce areas.