Activation of peroxydisulfate by a novel Cu0-Cu2O@CNTs composite for 2, 4-dichlorophenol degradation

Abstract

In this study, a novel Cu0-Cu2O@CNTs composite was synthesized, characterized and applied to activate peroxydisulfate (PDS) for the degradation of 2, 4-dichlorophenol (2,4-DCP) in contaminated lake water. The results indicated that Cu0-Cu2O@CNTs can effectively activate PDS to produce O2•− radical, which has high selectivity to degrade organic pollutants in actual contaminated water. The efficiency of 2,4-DCP degradation and mineralization was 99.27% and 66.90%, respectively under the optimal condition. In the presence of Cl−, HCO3− and natural organic matters (NOMs) or in real wastewater containing 2,4-DCP, Cu0-Cu2O@CNTs/PDS system had a good selectivity for 2,4-DCP degradation. O2•− was the dominant reactive species in Cu0-Cu2O@CNTs/PDS system for 2,4-DCP degradation. The possible degradation pathway of 2,4-DCP was proposed. It was concluded that Cu0-Cu2O@CNTs composite could overcome the shortcomings of PDS activation by Cu0 and Cu2O alone, such as low activating capability of Cu0 and instability of Cu2O, which was high efficient for activating PDS. Cu0-Cu2O@CNTs composite can be used as an efficient catalyst to activate PDS for the degradation of toxic organic pollutants in water and wastewater.