Comparing dark- and photo-Fenton-like degradation of emerging pollutant over photo-switchable Bi2WO6/CuFe2O4: Investigation on dominant reactive oxidation species.

Abstract

The extensive use of tetracycline hydrochloride (TCH) poses a threat to human health and the aquatic environment. Here, magnetic p-n Bi2WO6/CuFe2O4 catalyst was fabricated to efficiently remove TCH. The obtained Bi2WO6/CuFe2O4 exhibited 92.1% TCH degradation efficiency and 50.7% and 35.1% mineralization performance for TCH and raw secondary effluent from a wastewater treatment plant in a photo-Fenton-like system, respectively. The remarkable performance was attributed to the fact that photogenerated electrons accelerated the Fe(III)/Fe(II) and Cu(II)/Cu(I) conversion for the Fenton-like reaction between Fe(II)/Cu(I) and H2O2, thereby generating abundant •OH for pollutant oxidation. Various environmental factors including H2O2 concentration, initial pH, catalyst dosage, TCH concentration and inorganic ions were explored. The reactive oxidation species (ROS) quenching results and electron spin resonance (ESR) spectra confirmed that •O2- and •OH were responsible for the dark and photo-Fenton-like systems, respectively. The degradation mechanisms and pathways of TCH were proposed, and the toxicity of products was evaluated. This work contributes a highly efficient and environmentally friendly catalyst and provides a clear mechanistic explanation for the removal of antibiotic pollutants in environmental remediation.