Ultrasound-assisted synthesized BiFeO3 as FeOH+ promoted peroxymonosulfate activator for highly efficient degradation of tetracycline

A multiferroic BiFeO3 (BFO) catalyst was fabricated through a mild one-pot hydrothermal process with a bath-ultrasound assisted dissolution of Fe(NO3)(3)center dot 9H(2)O for 30 min. X-ray photoemission spectroscopy revealed that the BFO (BFO-u) catalyst with US assisted dissolution of Fe(NO3)(3)center dot 9H(2)O in the synthetic process exhibited high Fe2- and OH- levels, which could be explained to be Fe3+ + H2O ->()))) Fe2+ + H+ + (OH)-O-center dot. As a result, BFO-u catalyst activated potassium peroxymonosulfate (PMS) efficiently for degrading tetracycline hydrochloride. In particular, visible-light assisted activation of PMS over BFO-u catalyst exhibited the highest degradation rate constant, at 0.352 min(-1). Species-trapping experiments revealed that the presence of PMS promoted the generation of (OH)-O-center dot, center dot O(2)(- )and O-1(2) that all participated in degrading TCH, in which O-1(2) was primarily contributed to the degradation. Also, BFO-u catalyst was stable and recyclable and thus suitable for practical applications. (C) 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

A multiferroic BiFeO3 (BFO) catalyst was fabricated using a mild hydrothermal process with bath-ultrasound assisted dissolution of Fe(NO3)3 9H2O. The BFO-u catalyst exhibited high Fe2+ and OH- levels, efficiently degrading tetracycline hydrochloride. Visible-light assisted activation of PMS over BFO-u catalyst showed the highest degradation rate constant and recyclability.