The visible optical driving N-S co-doped La2Ti2O7 activated peroxydisulfate for carbamazepine removal: Mechanism and performance

Abstract

Carbamazepine (CBZ) as an “emerging pollutant”, which poses a threat to human health. Photocatalytic activation of peroxydisulfate (PDS)-based advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) can deep oxidation of CBZ pollutants through the generation of free radicals with high redox potential. However, most of common photocatalysts only have a narrow band gap, which limits their application under visible light. In order to broaden the band gap of photocatalysis, herein we report the N-S co-doping in La2Ti2O7 (N-S LTO) is viable, and then evaluate the visible light activation of PDS to remove the pollutants of CBZ. Compared with pure LTO and N or S mono-doped LTO, the degradation efficiency of CBZ in N-S LTO/PDS/Vis system was 2.18, 1.45, and 1.41 times improved, respectively, under the visible light irradiation condition. Furthermore, the mechanism of CBZ degradation under N-S LTO/PDS/Vis processes was explored and revealed that the HO• and SO4•− were the main substances for the breakage of CBZ molecules. The further physicochemical characterization of samples convinced the active sites in N-S LTO for PDS motivation and oxidation processes with the best separation and migration ability of carriers than other samples. Finally, combined with density functional theory (DFT) calculations, the detailed degradation pathways of CBZ were proposed. This work not only provides insight into the construction of photocatalysts with co-doping for PDS activation, but also brings an inspiration of CBZ degradation in water treatment.