CHINESE CHEMICAL LETTERS, cilt.38, sa.1, ss.112442-112460, 2026 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)
Iron-based metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) stand out as promising catalysts for heterogeneous electro-Fenton (HEF) treatment of micropollutants, yet their performance is often constrained by the limited accessibility of active sites and sluggish electron transfer. Herein, a facile phosphine-assisted amorphization strategy was proposed to convert crystalline MIL-88B(Fe) into a P-coordinated amorphous counterpart (aMIL-88B(Fe)-P) featuring abundant asymmetric P–Fe–O moieties. The amorphous architecture ensures abundant exposure of active sites and enhanced mass transport, while the asymmetric coordination environment upshifts the Fe d-band center toward the Fermi level, thereby lowering the energy barrier for H2O2 activation. Notably, the aMIL-88B(Fe)-P-catalyzed EF system attained complete naproxen removal within 90 min, with a pseudo-first-order kinetic rate constant of 0.038 min-1, outperforming all comparative trials and many reported HEF systems. Moreover, the system demonstrated broad-spectrum micropollutant removal, favorable catalyst reusability, and remarkable scalability in a flow-through electrochemical device, confirming strong practical applicability. This work highlights the potential of combining structural amorphization with precise coordination engineering to fully unlock the catalytic potential of MOFs for advanced EF applications.