Water recovery from wastewater by γFe2O3@Ti3C2Tx nanocomposites based on peroxymonosulfate activation

Abstract

Advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) are efficient means for the water recovery by removing the organic pollutants in wastewater. In this study, γFe2O3@Ti3C2Tx nanocomposite was synthesized and utilized for the removal of micropollutants (i.e. ibuprofen, IBP) through peroxymonosulfate (PMS) activation. The characterization results suggest that γFe2O3 nanoparticles were uniformly decorated on the Ti3C2Tx MXene nanosheets surface. γFe2O3@Ti3C2Tx nanocomposite exhibited excellent catalytic ability and stability for PMS activation to generate reactive species for the elimination of IBP. The influence of reaction parameters, including catalyst, IBP and PMS concentration as well as initial pH value, were systematacially studied. The synergistic effect of the binary active sites (Fe and Ti) facilitated the cleavage of OO bond in PMS, thus contributing to the production of abundant sulfate radicals (SO4●-) and hydroxyl radicals (●OH) for the degradation of IBP. This study may shed light on the applications of heterogeneous catalyst for the degradation of organic pollutants through PMS activation.