Facile Synthesis of AgFeO<sub>2</sub>‐Decorated CaCO<sub>3</sub> with Enhanced Catalytic Activity in Activation of Peroxymonosulfate for Efficient Degradation of Organic Pollutants
Sheng Guo, Cong Li, Liming You, Wei Yang, Jun Li, Kun Zhou
Abstract
The development of green and sustainable technologies for wastewater treatment is highly desirable but remains challenging. Herein, a self‐assembly strategy to stabilize AgFeO 2 on the surface of CaCO 3 (AgFeO 2 @CaCO 3 ) is demonstrated. This structure is discovered to significantly prohibit the agglomeration of AgFeO 2 nanoparticles and strengthen the interaction between AgFeO 2 and CaCO 3 . When utilized in advanced oxidation processes (AOPs), AgFeO 2 @CaCO 3 exhibits excellent catalytic performance in activating peroxymonosulfate (PMS) to degrade multiple organic pollutants. For example, complete Rhodamine B (RhB) decomposition can be achieved by AgFeO 2 @CaCO 3 in the presence of PMS at a degradation rate of 0.312 min −1 , which is 44.6 times that of bare AgFeO 2 . In addition, AgFeO 2 @CaCO 3 demonstrates excellent stability, recyclability, general applicability, and strong resistance to the solution pH. 1 O 2 and O 2 · − are the predominant reactive oxygen species in RhB degradation. The rapid RhB degradation can be attributed to the mesoporous structure and high specific surface area of AgFeO 2 @CaCO 3 , the cycling of Fe(III)/Fe(II) and Ag(I)/Ag(0), and the presence of hydroxyl groups that facilities PMS activation, which is validated by density functional theory calculations. This study provides a feasible and scalable strategy to synthesize green and recyclable heterogeneous catalysts for wastewater remediation via PMS‐based AOPs.