Comparative study of Cu-based bimetallic oxides for Fenton-like degradation of organic pollutants

In order to provide useful information for the rational design of effective Fenton-like catalyst, a series of Cu-based bimetallic oxides were synthesized and their Fenton-like performances for the degradation of Orange II and ciprofloxacin were compared. The structure, chemical oxidation state, surface charge property and redox ability of the catalysts were also investigated by different characterization techniques. Among them, NiCu exhibited the highest adsorption capacity towards Orange II and the highest activity for the production of center dot OH from H2O2 decomposition, which could be attributed to its high surface area and highly positively charged surface. However, FeCu exhibited the highest activity for the degradation of Orange II. The reason might be that FeCu has more unpaired electrons and higher redox ability, thus promoting the activation of adsorbed Orange H through the electron transfer process. By contrast, NiCu exhibited the highest activity for the removal of ciprofloxacin because ciprofloxacin was mainly degraded by center dot OH. Finally, the main degradation intermediates of Orange II and ciprofloxacin were determined by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. (C) 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.