The Efficiency and Mechanism of Electrochemical Oxidation of Levofloxacin Using Ti/RuO2-TiO2-SnO2 Anodes

The presence of residual levofloxacin (LEV) in the environment poses an unpredictable threat to the ecosystem. The electrochemical anodic oxidation method was chosen for the study of LEV degradation. Three different anodes (Ti/RuO2-TiO2-SnO2, Ti/Pt, Ti/RuO2-IrO2) were chosen and subjected to X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis to determine the crystal structure of the anode surface. When the degradation rates of three anode materials for LEV were compared under the same conditions, it was discovered that the Ti/RuO2-TiO2-SnO2 electrode had the highest degradation efficiency for LEV. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was then used to investigate the surface morphology of the three different anodes both before and after use. The effects of electrode spacing, current strength, electrolyte concentration, and pH on the degradation of LEV were investigated in independent factor experiments. The optimal conditions for LEV degradation by Ti/RuO2-TiO2-SnO2 electrode were determined using orthogonal experiments, and a degradation efficiency of 94.65% was achieved at 0.9 A, 4 g/L Na2SO4, and pH = 6 for 120 min. In order to investigate the mechanism of electrochemical degradation of LEV, different experiments were done to corroborate each other. Indirect oxidation and center dot OH were demonstrated to play a major role in LEV degradation by CV curves and radical trapping experiments. Finally, HPLC-Ms experiments identified intermediate products of LEV degradation and proposed three possible degradation pathways to provide theoretical support for real LEV wastewater degradation.

Automated summary

This study investigated the degradation of residual levofloxacin (LEV) in the environment using the electrochemical anodic oxidation method. The Ti/RuO2-TiO2-SnO2 electrode demonstrated the highest degradation efficiency for LEV among the three different anodes tested. Factors such as electrode spacing, current strength, electrolyte concentration, and pH were found to affect the degradation of LEV. The optimal conditions for LEV degradation using the Ti/RuO2-TiO2-SnO2 electrode were determined. The study also revealed the mechanism and intermediate products of LEV degradation.