A bismuth-doped three-dimensional networked carbon felt/PbO2 (CF/Bi-PbO2) anode was developed for the electrocatalytic degradation of diuron and treatment of real pesticide wastewater. The prepared PbO2 anodes were characterized by FESEM, XRD, EDX, BET-BJH, accelerated lifetime test, LSV, CV and EIS. Bi doping in the PbO2 matrix significantly increased the electrochemical active area (3.17 vs. 1.57 m2 g− 1 ), oxygen evolution potential (2.3 vs. 1.95 V) and service time (143 vs. 76 h) of CF/Bi-PbO2 anode compared to pristine CF/PbO2. The results showed that the optimized degradation efficiency of diuron by CF/Bi-PbO2 anode at pH 5 and a current density of 15 mA cm− 2 after 25 min of reaction is 97.6 %. However, it took 50 min to remove COD with 98.7 % efficiency. The possible pathways of electrocatalytic degradation of diuron were discussed using HPLCmass data. The electrocatalytic performance of PbO2 anodes was compared under optimal conditions for real pesticide wastewater treatment. Accordingly, the kinetic constant of COD removal by Bi-doped anode (0.0101 min− 1 ) was about 2.4 times higher than pristine PbO2 (0.0043 min− 1 ). The biodegradability index (BOD/COD ratio) of pesticide wastewater after 180 min of treatment by CF/Bi-PbO2 and CF/PbO2 anodes was 0.62 and 0.29, respectively, which shows that the wastewater treated with Bi-doped anode is completely biodegradable.
