Tetracycline degradation by the Co3O4/peroxymonosulfate system: Effect of calcination temperature
Xinfeng Zhu, Jiaxuan Li, Yunlong Wang, Tuo Wang, Mengyao Shi, Linlin Chang, Chaohai Wang, Kai Wang, Libin Jiang, Dandan Pang, Zhongxian Song, Shiqiang Yin, Jinhui Zhang
Abstract
The widespread antibiotic use is accompanied by antibiotic resistance. A large number of antibiotic pollutants enter the water, seriously endangering the ecological environment and human health. In this study, cobalt-based materials are used to activate persulfate to treat antibiotics in wastewater based on advanced oxidation. Co3O4 is obtained at different temperatures by the one-step roasting method, eliminating the complicated preparation of traditional materials which require a large amount of reagents, generating a large amount of wastewater, and complex large-scale preparation. XRD and Raman results indicate the materials’ good crystallinity and purity. XPS and SEM indicated that the appropriate calcination temperature promoted the formation of Co2+, which was conducive to the activation of PMS for the oxidation of TCH. The catalytic activity of the materials is evaluated using tetracycline (TCH). Results suggest that 90.01% of TCH is removed after 30 min using 0.8 g/L Co3O4-350 °C, 0.4 g/L persulfate (PMS), 25 °C, and initial pH. Moreover, pH, cyclic, and ion interference experiments indicate that the Co3O4-350 °C/PMS system exhibits a wide potential application range. Free radical scavenging experiments show that ·O2− is the main active oxygen species. Co3O4-350 °C as a PMS activator is a catalytic material with large-scale practical applications.