A novel electrochemical modification combined with one-step pyrolysis for preparation of sustainable thorn-like iron-based biochar composites.

A novel method incorporating electrochemical (EC) modification and one-step pyrolysis is developed to prepare sustainable FeO-based magnetic adsorbent (EC-FeO/BC) via pyrolysis of FeCl-pretreated corn straw-derived biochar under an electric field generated by graphite electrode. Morphological characterization revealed a uniform dispersion of rod-like crystalline FeO nanoparticles in the inner and outer structure of biochar. The EC modification also introduced more oxygen-containing functional groups, which contributed to an outstanding Pb adsorption capacity (113 mg g) and fast kinetics (0.054 g mg h). Therefore, the EC modification is a simple and time-saving method to effectively fabricate magnetic biochar adsorbent for high-performance wastewater treatment.