Designing carbon-based catalysts for enhanced sulfite activation: Strategies for pollutant degradation

Sulfite, a common industrial by-product, catalyzes cost-effective advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) for wastewater treatment. Carbon-based materials mainly serve as charge transfer media, and play a catalytic role in heterogeneous sulfite activation processes. Previous literatures often overlook recent advancements in modifying carbon materials and their functional categorization, which is crucial for improving catalytic performance. Addressing these gaps, this review incorporates up-to-date bibliometric analyses, providing a thorough overview of carbon catalyst types and their environmental applications. It examines structural and surface modifications, the integration of metal and non-metal doping, and heterostructures, as well as their interactions with sulfite through both radical and non-radical pathways. Additionally, it assesses the implications of these modifications for catalytic efficiency and environmental safety. Ultimately, this review systematically categorizes carbon-based materials and mechanisms, promoting the development of more effective and sustainable sulfite activation strategies for pollution control.