Efficient PH3 removal over Cu-doped active carbon with stable active Cu2+ species enabled by nitrogen modification

The effective elimination of the highly toxic phosphine (PH₃) is crucial for environmental and human health. Nonetheless, developing efficient methods for the removal of PH₃ and its conversion into valuable resources remains a significant challenge. Herein, we reported a novel strategy of N doping in Cu-doped active carbon (Cu-AC) to realize efficient PH₃ removal. Introduction of N into Cu-AC induces strong interaction between Cu and N, which greatly promotes the dispersion of Cu species and stabilize the active Cu²⁺ species of PH₃ removal due to the electronegativity of N. In addition, doping N also improves the basic intensity and oxidation capability, which provide high benefits for the adsorption and activation of PH₃. As a result, the obtained N-doped Cu-AC (Cu-N-AC) shows exceptional performance for the oxidative removal of PH₃ to generate H₃PO₄ at 70 °C, reaching a high breakthrough capacity of 534.5 mg g⁻¹, which outperforms most of the previously reported catalysts. Cu-N-AC can be easily regenerated through water washing and air drying, showcasing its great potential for practical applications. This study not only introduces a promising material for PH₃ removal, but also offers an innovative approach to design catalysts for efficient PH₃ utilization, presenting an important contribution to the field of phosphorus resource recovery.