Cobalt and nitrogen co-doped monolithic carbon foam for ultrafast degradation of emerging organic pollutants via peroxymonosulfate activation

Cobalt-based catalysts are expected as one of the most promising peroxymonosulfate (PMS) activators for the removal of organic pollutants from industrial wastewater. However, the easy agglomeration, difficult separation, and secondary pollution of cobalt ions limit their practical application. In this study, a novel, highly efficient, reusable cobalt and nitrogen co-doped monolithic carbon foam (Co-N-CMF) was utilized to activate PMS for ultrafast pollutant degradation. Co-N-CMF (0.2 g/L) showed ultrafast catalytic kinetics and higher total organic carbon (TOC) removal efficiency. Bisphenol A, ciprofloxacin, 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid, and 2,4-dichloro-phenol could be completely degraded after 2, 4, 5, and 5 min, and the TOC removal efficiencies were 77.4 %, 68.9 %, 72.8 %, and 79.8 %, respectively, corresponding to the above pollution. The sulfate radical (SO4 center dot-) was the main reactive oxygen species in Co-N-CMF/PMS based on electron paramagnetic resonance. The ecological structure-activity relationship program analysis via the quantitative structure activity relationship analysis and phytotoxicity assessment revealed that the Co-N-CMF/PMS system demonstrates good ecological safety and ecological compatibility. The Co-N-CMF catalyst has good catalytic activity and facile recycling, which provides a fine method with excellent PMS activation capacity for 2,4-dichlorophenol elimination from simulated in-dustrial wastewater. This study provides new insights into the development of monolithic catalysts for ultrafast wastewater treatment via PMS activation.

Automated summary

In this study, a novel, highly efficient, reusable cobalt and nitrogen co-doped monolithic carbon foam (Co-N-CMF) catalyst was used to activate peroxymonosulfate (PMS) for ultrafast pollutant degradation. Co-N-CMF showed ultrafast catalytic kinetics and higher total organic carbon (TOC) removal efficiency. The study provides new insights into the development of monolithic catalysts for ultrafast wastewater treatment via PMS activation.