Loading carbonaceous materials with silver for the treatment of chloro-organic compounds in aqueous phase

Many electrochemical technologies, either based on novel concepts (such as microbial fuel cells), experimental setups (such as photoelectrochemical or solar photoelectro-Fenton reactors) or materials (mainly focused on the use of large O2-overpotential anodes like BDD) have been devised in recent years for water remediation. Special attention has been paid to highly toxic, biorefractory organic pollutants such as the chlorinated hydrocarbons, which conjugate toxicity with chemical stability, bioaccumulation and long-range diffusivity [1]. Electroreduction at silver cathodes becomes an interesting alternative to degrade chloro-organic compounds, but it may lead to the accumulation of reactio…