Persistent organic contaminants are increasingly accumulating in saline waters, where high ionic strength and complex electrolytes hinder oxidative remediation. Electrogenerated reactive oxygen species (ROS) offer a promising route for pollutant degradation, yet the role of electrolyte cations in controlling ROS pathways remains poorly understood. Although singlet oxygen ( 1 O 2 ) is more persistent and matrix‐tolerant than hydroxyl radicals (•OH), whether cation‐induced changes in interfacial water structure govern ROS selectivity remains unclear. Here, using atomically dispersed Cu on Fe 2 O 3 ‐carbon nanotubes (Cu 1 /Fe 2 O 3 ‐CNTs) as a dual‐ROS electrocatalyst, we show that alkali‐metal cations exert distinct effects on ROS generation. •OH production follows the expected cation‐size‐dependent trend, whereas 1 O 2 generation exhibits an anomalous maximum in Na + ‐containing electrolytes, leading to superior contaminant degradation. Quantitative ROS measurements, in situ electrochemical analysis, spectroscopy, and theoretical calculations show that this behavior is primarily governed by selective stabilization of the *OOH intermediate rather than enhanced O 2 adsorption. Na + promotes a highly interconnected interfacial hydrogen‐bond network that stabilizes *OOH and favors 1 O 2 formation. In natural seawater, this regulation enables >98.2% contaminant removal within 8 h at an estimated energy demand of 0.779 kWh m −3 . These findings identify electrolyte cations as important regulators of ROS selectivity and provide a basis for efficient saline‐water decontamination.
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Sheng et al. (2026) studied this question.
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