Work

Strain‒induced spin regulation of stepped Co(111) for boosting peracetic acid magnetocatalysis

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Atomic site–specific reactivity induced by the lattice distortion has garnered increasing research interest for advancing the heterogeneous catalytic conversions, owing to strain–field–tunable electronic structure of the distorted reactive sites. Here, we prepare the catalysts with reactive center of ferromagnetically nanoparticulate cobalt that is fully exposed by the Co(111) lattice plane with increasing strain. Such sites can boost peracetic acid (PAA) utilization under a mild magnetic field (maximum 240 mT) to produce a bulk of reactive species with high ratio 93.1% R–O• for sulfamethoxazole abatement and thus attain high–effective greener decontamination for water remediations. Spin‒polarized density functional theory and experimental results collectively confirm strain–induced spin modulation at Co(111) step A sites as a critical reactivity determinant. This work provides a perspective into improving the atomic economies of developing ferromagnetic nanoparticulated metal sites into water remediation in low–energy PAA utilization route.

Source: Nature Communications

DOI: 10.1038/s41467-026-71158-9