LAUSR

Abstract A solar-driven highly thermal electrochemical oxidation is introduced and demonstrated for a sustainable treatment of organic pollutants in wastewater, exemplified by methyl red dye. Utilizing both solar thermal and electric action on induction of thermo- and electrochemical reaction, the organic pollutants in wastewater are efficiently electrooxidized under an activation chemistry of the high temperature. Meanwhile, the overall solar utilization is greatly enhanced by the input of a majority of heat dominated the solar utilization. The cyclic voltammetry (CV) curves indicate two oxidation processes at temperatures lower than 100 °C, while only one oxidation wave presents at temperatures above 100 °C, and the oxidation potentials also decrease compared with the conventional electrolysis. The solar oxidation demonstrates that the rate of methyl red oxidation is enhanced by 92.68% at 200 °C compared to 29.31% at 20 °C. The mechanism presents that solar heat is provided to activate reactant molecules, which reduces the electrolysis potential and allow energetically forbidden oxidation to occur easily. This study opens a new avenue for efficient solar utilization and sustainable wastewater treatment.