Ultrasound enhanced destruction of tetracycline hydrochloride with peroxydisulfate oxidation over FeS/NBC catalyst: Governing factors, strengthening mechanism and degradation pathway

An S-Scheme MOF-on-MXene Heterostructure for Enhanced Photocatalytic Periodate Activation

Fully understanding the periodate (PI) activation system is still a great challenge, which calls for efficient heterogeneous catalysts with a sophisticated structure. Herein, we developed "MOF-on-MXene" heterostructures. By constructing S-scheme heterostructures MXene/Z67450, the internal electric field is generated via the Ti-O-Co bonds at the interface, favoring the excitation of the photogenerated electrons, providing a driving force for accelerating the charge transfer, and enhancing redox performances. Further contributed by the synergy of Ti-O-Co and Co-N4 bonds, the MXene/Z67450 composites exhibit enhanced ability for activating the periodate system to degrade organic pollutants via building a donor-catalyst-acceptor system. In the presence of periodate and light, MXene/Z67450 degraded ∼100% of tetracycline hydrochloride (TCH) in only 10 min. The active sites of the heterostructures can react with the periodate and give the intermediate MXene/Z67450-PI (*PI). As a result, it efficiently reduced the PI adsorption energy and promoted the decomposition of PI and the formation of holes/electrons, singlet oxygen (1O2) as well as hydroxyl radical (•OH). In addition, the MXene/Z67450 composites exhibit high stability, reusability, selectivity, and environmental robustness. Our study provides a research direction for rationally designing MXene-based heterojunctions and applying them in the periodate activation system.

Magnetic iron-based waterworks sludge modified by chitosan and FeS for aqueous Cr(vi) adsorption and reduction

Heavy metals have been considered an evolving environmental concern due to their harmful and long-lasting impacts. We synthesized a composite of FeS/CS@MIBWS for aqueous Cr(vi) adsorption and reduction utilizing the iron-based waterworks sludge modified by chitosan and FeS. After determining the optimal conditions for the FeS/CS@MIBWS preparation, its Cr(vi) removal capability was evaluated using material characterisation and static Cr(vi) adsorption assays. Cr(vi) elimination by the composite was a pH-dependent process, with pH 2 being the optimum in the range of 2-10. The adsorption process was befitted a pseudo-second-order model, and the equilibrium results agreed well with the Langmuir model. The thermodynamics investigation showed that Cr(vi) removal by the composite has both spontaneous and endothermic nature. Considering the ionic effects, Cl-, SO4 2- and PO4 3- decreased Cr(vi) elimination in the sequence of Cl- < SO4 2- < PO4 3-. The key mechanisms for Cr(vi) elimination were physical and chemical adsorption, chelation, and Cr(vi) reduction into Cr(iii). Furthermore, FeS/CS@MIBWS demonstrated steady reusability (removal effectiveness of 70% after 5 cycles). FeS/CS@MIBWS's rapid, high-performance, reusable, and easily separable adsorption properties make it a promising choice for heavy metal environmental cleaning.

Fabrication of 0D/1D S-scheme CoO-CuBi2O4 heterojunction for efficient photocatalytic degradation of tetracycline by activating peroxydisulfate and product risk assessment

The step-scheme (S-scheme) heterojunction has excellent redox capability, effectively degrading organic pollutants in wastewater. Combining S-scheme heterojunction with activated persulfate advanced oxidation process reasonably can further enhance the degradation of Emerging Contaminants. Herein, a novel zero-dimensional/one-dimensional (0D/1D) CoO-CuBi2O4 (CoO-CBO) photocatalyst with S-scheme heterojunction was designed by hydrothermal and solvothermal methods. The band structure and electron and hole transfer pathway of CoO-CBO were analyzed using the ex-situ and in-situ X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Ultraviolet and Visible Spectrophotometer (UV-Vis) and optical radiation Kelvin probe force microscope (KPFM), and the formation of S-scheme heterojunction was demonstrated. The photocatalytic activity of ·S-scheme CoO-CBO heterojunction was carried out by degrading tetracycline (TC) with activating potassium monopersulfate triple salt under visible light. Compared with pure CuBi2O4 and pure CoO, 30%CoO/CuBi2O4 catalyst exhibited the highest TC degradation performance after activating persulfate, degrading 89.5% of TC within 90 min. On the one hand, the S-scheme heterojunction formed between CoO and CBO had a high redox potential. On the other hand, the activation of persulfate by Co and Cu could accelerate redox cycles and facilitate the generation of active radicals such as SO4-, O2- and OH, promoting the separation of the photogenerated e- and h+ in the composite, enhancing the peroxydisulfate (PDS) activation performance and improving the degradation effect of TC. Then, a gradual decrease in the toxicity of the intermediates in the TC degradation process was detected by ECOCER. In all, this study provided an S-scheme CoO/CuBi2O4 heterojunction that can activate PDS to degrade TC efficiently, which provided a new idea for the study of novel pollutant degradation and environmental toxicology.