In response to the urgent need for efficient degradation of emerging organic contaminants, this study has developed a novel catalytic system based on an original Fe-doped aerogel catalyst (FeCAS) and its carbonization-enhanced variant (FeCAS-400), designed to improve the activation performance of peracetic acid (PAA). The FeCAS/PAA achieves a remarkable 96.1% degradation of sulfamethoxazole (SMX) without external energy input, while the FeCAS-400/PAA further elevates the SMX removal rate to 98.4% (k_obs = 0.326 min⁻¹) and demonstrates effectiveness across a broad pH range of 3–11. Theoretical calculations reveal that carbonization enhances electron transfer between iron–carbon substrates, which contributes to improved catalytic performance. The system also exhibits versatility in removing a wide range of prevalent contaminants and proves effective in real water matrices. This synergistic approach, combining aerogels with metal–carbon electron transfer, holds promise for an extension to other advanced oxidation processes, contributing to the assurance of water quality safety and sustainability.

为响应对有效降解新兴有机污染物的迫切需求，本研究开发了一种基于原始 Fe 掺杂气凝胶催化剂 （FeCAS） 及其碳化增强变体 （FeCAS-400） 的新型催化系统，旨在提高过氧乙酸 （PAA） 的活化性能。FeCAS/PAA 在没有外部能量输入的情况下实现了对磺胺甲噁唑 （SMX） 的显著 96.1% 降解，而 FeCAS-400/PAA 进一步将 SMX 去除率提高到 98.4% （k_obs = 0.326 min⁻¹），并在 3-11 的宽 pH 范围内显示出有效性。理论计算表明，碳化增强了铁-碳基底之间的电子转移，这有助于提高催化性能。该系统在去除各种普遍污染物方面还表现出多功能性，并在实际水基质中被证明是有效的。这种协同方法将气凝胶与金属-碳电子转移相结合，有望扩展到其他高级氧化过程，有助于确保水质安全和可持续性。