Facile hydrothermal synthesis of co-glycerate as an efficient peroxymonosulfate activator for rhodamine B degradation

Abstract

Sulfate radical based advanced oxidation processes (SR-AOPs) are regarded as a promising technology to degrade organic pollutants in water. Here, hydrothermally synthesized Co-glycerate (Co-G) microspheres are proposed as an efficient heterogeneous catalyst to activate peroxymonosulfate (PMS) for degradation of refractory organic pollutant rhodamine B (RhB) in aqueous solution. The presence of Co-G microspheres enhanced the degradation rate significantly with a short full degradation time (8 min) and a total organic carbon (TOC) removal exceeding 41% (10 min), thus implying the excellent catalytic performance of Co-G microspheres for PMS activation. Furthermore, the effects of PMS and catalyst concentration, initial pH value and co-existing ions on RhB degradation were investigated. Radical quenching and EPR tests identify that active species including SO4-·, HO·, O2-· and 1O2 are involved in the degradation process. Additionally, a possible reaction mechanism of PMS activation by Co-G microspheres for RhB degradation was suggested. This study can provide a new insight for design of cobalt-based heterogeneous catalysts as activators to activation PMS for pollutants degradation.