Amplification of oxidative elimination of atrazine by Ultrasound/Ultraviolet–assisted Sono/Photocatalyst using a spinel cobalt ferrite–anchored MWCNT as peroxymonosulfate activator

Abstract

In this study, multi–walled carbon nanotubes–supported cobalt ferrite nanoparticles (CoFe2O4@MWCNTs) were synthesized by the co–precipitation method and applied to activate peroxymonosulfate (PMS) for Atrazine (ATZ) degradation. The highest degradation rates (99.99 % and 98.17 %) were obtained at pH 5.0, PMS dosage of 1 mM, catalyst dosage of 0.25 g/L, ATZ concentration of 20 mg/L, and temperature of 298 K. Quenching tests showed that the hydroxyl radical was the main agent in ATZ degradation. The ATZ removal efficiency was higher than 90 % even after five cycles, indicating that CoFe2O4@MWCNT nanocomposite is reusable. Under optimum conditions, 77.8 % and 86.7 % of total organic carbon (TOC) were removed after 60 min of being in US/CoFe2O4@MWCNT/PMS and UV/CoFe2O4@MWCNT/PMS systems. The synthesized catalyst can be a promising catalyst for the degradation of refractory organic pollutants, due to excellent catalytic activity, high reusability, and low ion leaching.