Continuous Conversion Research Articles

Isopropanol production via the thermophilic bioconversion of sugars and syngas using metabolically engineered Moorella thermoacetica

BackgroundIsopropanol (IPA) is a commodity chemical used as a solvent or raw material for polymeric products, such as plastics. Currently, IPA production depends largely on high-CO2-emission petrochemical methods that are not sustainable. Therefore, alternative low-CO2 emission methods are required. IPA bioproduction using biomass or waste gas is a promising method.ResultsMoorella thermoacetica, a thermophilic acetogenic microorganism, was genetically engineered to produce IPA. A metabolic pathway related to acetone reduction was selected, and acetone conversion to IPA was achieved via the heterologous expression of secondary alcohol dehydrogenase (sadh) in the thermophilic bacterium. sadh-expressing strains were combined with acetone-producing strains, to obtain an IPA-producing strain. The strain produced IPA as a major product using hexose and pentose sugars as substrates (81% mol-IPA/mol-sugar). Furthermore, IPA was produced from CO, whereas acetate was an abundant byproduct. Fermentation using syngas containing both CO and H2 resulted in higher IPA production at the specific rate of 0.03 h−1. The supply of reducing power for acetone conversion from the gaseous substrates was examined by supplementing acetone to the culture, and the continuous and rapid conversion of acetone to IPA showed a sufficient supply of NADPH for Sadh.ConclusionsThe successful engineering of M. thermoacetica resulted in high IPA production from sugars. M. thermoacetica metabolism showed a high capacity for acetone conversion to IPA in the gaseous substrates, indicating acetone production as the bottleneck in IPA production for further improving the strain. This study provides a platform for IPA production via the metabolic engineering of thermophilic acetogens.

Inclusion and anti-racism work as performance or deep work? It literally is either-or: A qualitative study in the CFT field.

This study explores the experience of promoting inclusion and anti-racism work as either performance or deep work in the couple and family therapy (CFT) field through narrative qualitative analysis. While performance-based approaches focus on meeting external expectations and diversity quotas, deep work involves critical self-reflection, ongoing learning, and a commitment to addressing systemic inequalities. The paper prioritizes how deep inclusion assists with developing new approaches to creating meaningful and lasting change in teaching, research, and clinical work in the CFT field. Some professionals in the field include educators, researchers, and therapists who are engaged in anti-racism work, a recognition of the impact of systemic racism on family dynamics and therapeutic interventions, and a commitment to centering the voices and experiences of marginalized individuals and communities. Implications present a need for ongoing education, training, and support for professionals in the CFT field and other family science and family mental health-related professions. This study also identifies limitations and future directions for research in promoting inclusion and anti-racism work in family science and family mental health-related fields. It is essential to promote inclusion and anti-racism as deep work to create more inclusive and equitable teaching, research, and therapeutic environments that value the experiences of all individuals and communities. Challenges include resistance from shaking systems and making ourselves and others vulnerable with uncomfortable and continuous conversations. Our primary goal is to contribute to and inspire dialogue about the perspectives CFTs and other mental health-related professionals are taking in the relationship to inclusion and anti-racism work.

Multimodal Engineering of Catalytic Interfaces Confers Multi-Site Metal-Organic Framework for Internal Preconcentration and Accelerating Redox Kinetics in Lithium-Sulfur Batteries.

The development of highly efficient catalysts to address the shuttle effect and sluggish redox kinetics of lithium polysulfides (LiPSs) in lithium-sulfur batteries (LSBs) remains a formidable challenge. In this study, a series of multi-site catalytic metal-organic frameworks (MSC-MOFs) were elaborated through multimodal molecular engineering to regulate both the reactant diffusion and catalysis processes. MSC-MOFs were crafted with nanocages featuring collaborative specific adsorption/catalytic interfaces formed by exposed mixed-valence metal sites and surrounding adsorption sites. This design facilitates internal preconcentration, a coadsorption mechanism, and continuous efficient catalytic conversion toward polysulfides concurrently. Leveraging these attributes, LSBs with an MSC-MOF-Ti catalytic interlayer demonstrated a 62 % improvement in discharge capacity and cycling stability. This resulted in achieving a high areal capacity (11.57 mAh cm-2 ) at a high sulfur loading (9.32 mg cm-2 ) under lean electrolyte conditions, along with a pouch cell exhibiting an ultra-high gravimetric energy density of 350.8 Wh kg-1 . Lastly, this work introduces a universal strategy for the development of a new class of efficient catalytic MOFs, promoting SRR and suppressing the shuttle effect at the molecular level. The findings shed light on the design of advanced porous catalytic materials for application in high-energy LSBs.

Multimodal Engineering of Catalytic Interfaces Confers Multi‐Site Metal‐Organic Framework for Internal Preconcentration and Accelerating Redox Kinetics in Lithium‐Sulfur Batteries

AbstractThe development of highly efficient catalysts to address the shuttle effect and sluggish redox kinetics of lithium polysulfides (LiPSs) in lithium‐sulfur batteries (LSBs) remains a formidable challenge. In this study, a series of multi‐site catalytic metal‐organic frameworks (MSC‐MOFs) were elaborated through multimodal molecular engineering to regulate both the reactant diffusion and catalysis processes. MSC‐MOFs were crafted with nanocages featuring collaborative specific adsorption/catalytic interfaces formed by exposed mixed‐valence metal sites and surrounding adsorption sites. This design facilitates internal preconcentration, a coadsorption mechanism, and continuous efficient catalytic conversion toward polysulfides concurrently. Leveraging these attributes, LSBs with an MSC‐MOF‐Ti catalytic interlayer demonstrated a 62 % improvement in discharge capacity and cycling stability. This resulted in achieving a high areal capacity (11.57 mAh cm−2) at a high sulfur loading (9.32 mg cm−2) under lean electrolyte conditions, along with a pouch cell exhibiting an ultra‐high gravimetric energy density of 350.8 Wh kg−1. Lastly, this work introduces a universal strategy for the development of a new class of efficient catalytic MOFs, promoting SRR and suppressing the shuttle effect at the molecular level. The findings shed light on the design of advanced porous catalytic materials for application in high‐energy LSBs.

Modulation of Potential-Limiting Steps in Lithium-Sulfur Batteries by Catalyst Synergy.

Electrocatalysis is considered to be an effective method to solve the sluggish kinetics of lithium-sulfur batteries. However, a single catalyst cannot simultaneously catalyze multi-step sulfur reductions. And once the catalyst surface is covered by the initially deposited solid products, the subsequent catalytic activity will significantly deteriorate. Here, microporous ZIF-67 and its derivative nano-metallic Co0 are used as dual-catalyst aiming to address these drawbacks. The dual catalytic center effectively cooperates the adsorption and electron transfer for multi-steps of sulfur reductions, transforming the potential-limited step (Li2S4→Li2S2/Li2S) into a thermodynamic spontaneous reaction. ZIF-67 first adsorbs soluble Li2S4 to form a coordination structure of ZIF-Li2S4. Then nano-metallic Co0 attracts uncoordinated S atoms in ZIF-Li2S4 and facilitates the breaking of S-S bonds to form transient reductive ZIF-Li2S2 and Co-S2 via. spontaneous electron transfer. These intermediates facilitate continuous conversion to Li2S with reduced formation energy, which is beneficial to the regeneration of the catalyst. As a result, the cathode with ZIF@CNTs/Co@CNFs synergetic catalyst achieves initial areal capacity of 4.7mAhcm-2 and maintains 3.5mAhcm-2 at low electrolyte/sulfur ratio (E/S) of 5µLmg-1. This study provides valuable guidance for improving the electrochemical performance of lithium-sulfur batteries through catalyst synergistic strategies for multi-step reactions.

In situ confined encapsulation of ultrafine Fe2O3 nanoclusters in N/S co-doped graphene-based membranes for continuous chemical conversion.

Membranes with catalytic function can provide an effective approach for simultaneously transforming reactants to industrial chemicals and separation. However, rational design of stable and high-quality catalytic membranes with controlled structure remains a big challenge. We report a strategy for in situ confined encapsulation of ultrafine Fe2O3 nanoclusters in nitrogen and sulfur co-doped graphene-based membranes for continuous chemical conversion. By manipulation of the active ferric catalytic center and surrounding coordination atoms in doped rGO nanosheets, multiple coordination structures were provided to achieve improved catalytic properties. Angstrom-level confined interlayer structure (∼8 Å) was constructed by external pressurization of Fe/NS-rGO nanosheets on membrane substrate, and the adsorption energy of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) molecule between Fe/NS-rGO layers was much stronger than that in traditional nanometer-level confined space due to extra interactions, achieving the catalytic efficiency with a high Turnover Frequency (TOF) value (1596.0 h-1). The prepared ultrathin Fe/NS-rGO catalytic membrane also exhibited excellent water flux and rejection rate for small dye molecules, as well as long-term separation activity toward naphthol green B (NgB) for at least 130 h. The progress offers a viable route to the rational design of high-quality catalytic membranes with tailored structures and properties for wide applications.

Wood-inspired dual-scale directional channel cellulose bioreactors with high mass transfer efficiency for continuous flow catalytic green conversion

A cellulose bioreactor with dual-scale directional channels and a porous inner wall is reported for the continuous catalytic conversion of polydatin into resveratrol, which can achieve a high conversion rate of 98.58% of resveratrol within 2 h.

Continuous selective conversion of methane to methanol over a Cu-KFI zeolite catalyst using a water-O2 mixture as the oxygen source.

The continuous catalytic oxidation of methane to methanol on a Cu-KFI zeolite using water-O2 mixture as the oxidant is reported. A high methanol space-time yield of 880.3 mmol molCu-1 h-1 with 83% selectivity is achieved at 450 °C. Isotopic labelling experiments show that both H2O and O2 provide the oxygen source in this catalytic methane-to-methanol conversion reaction.

Modified SEPIC DC-DC Converter with Wide Step-up/Step-down Range for Fuel Cell Vehicles

The high efficient buck-boost DC-DC converter with wide step-up/step-down range is the way to solve the issue of voltage matching for commercial fuel cell vehicles with a strong hydrogen-electric hybrid. Based on the conventional SEPIC converter, the negative of one of the capacitors is connected with the negative of the power source to get more energy. A modified SEPIC buck-boost DC-DC converter with the advantages of wide voltage conversion range, continuous input current, common ground, and high conversion efficiency is proposed in this paper, meeting all the requirements of DC-DC converters for commercial fuel cell vehicles. On the basis of the steady-state analysis and comparison, the controller is designed based on the small-signal model. To verify the efficiency of the proposed converter, experimental prototypes are built using Si-based and SiC-based devices respectively. The experimental results show that the proposed buck-boost converter can effectively realize 2/3 times step-down and 5 times step-up. When disturbance and voltage dip occur, the adjust time of the control system is less than 200ms. The controller is verified to be robust and have fast responses. The maximum calculation, simulation and experimental efficiencies all exceed 96%, and the maximum efficiency of the SiC prototype under rated power is 96.1%.

Сандрар и Достоевский: функции литературных реминисценций

This paper examines the presence of literary reminiscences in the writings of Blaise Cendrars (1887–1961), a French poet of Swiss descent. The biographical factors that shaped the poet’s interest in Russia and the works of F. M. Dostoevsky are presented. This study examines the impact of Dostoevsky’s character, personality, and literary works on the development of Blaise Cendrars’s artistic identity. It is shown that Cendrars’ poetry, novels, and biographical prose demonstrate a continuous conversation with the writings of the Russian author. This conversation is especially noticeable in his description of the urban landscape: Cendrars’s St. Petersburg aligns perfectly with what literary scholars later referred to as the St. Petersburg text in Russian literature. It is worth mentioning the transition from the development of descriptive elements commonly found in the works of the Russian writer to his very characters and images, which undergo a novel interpretation in Cendrars. The analysis discloses the resemblance between little Jeanne of France in “Prose about the Trans-Siberian Express” (1913) and Sonya Marmeladova. The main character in “Moravazhin” (1926) is depicted as a modern Prince Myshkin derived from Dostoevsky’s drafts. A conclusion is drawn that Dostoevsky proved to be a talismanic author for Cendrars. Dostoevsky’s influence was not limited to the text. It was multifaceted, affecting not only the characters, plot lines, and artistic means of depiction but also the creation of a literary biography of Cendrars, with the motif of resurrection and rebirth to eternal life borrowed from Dostoevsky appearing as fundamental.

Optimal design for continuous conversion of glycerol to 1,3-propanediol using a new feedback control law

Optimal design for continuous conversion of glycerol to 1,3-propanediol using a new feedback control law

Analysis of the browning reaction in a sorbitol/glycine model: Formation and degradation of precursors, glucose and α-dicarbonyl compounds during heating

Browning can occur in the matrices of alditol and amino acids due to heating or long-term storage, which poses challenges in achieving the desired appearance stability. To investigate the mechanism of browning in the sorbitol-glycine system, we evaluated the evolution of typical intermediates, including glucose and α-dicarbonyl compounds (α-DCs), during heating at 100 ˚C. The browning index and intermediate products of the sorbitol-glycine system increased more rapidly compared to those of the sorbitol system. After heating for 10 h, the browning index of the sorbitol-glycine system was eight times higher than that of sorbitol alone. In the presence of glycine, sorbitol underwent continuous conversion into glucose. After 10 h of heating, the concentration of glucose in the sorbitol-glycine system reanched 726.6 mg/L, which was approximately 63 times higher than that in the sorbitol system. Mass spectrometry analysis revealed the presence of α-DCs such as 3-deoxyglucosone (3-DG), glyoxal (GO), methylglyoxal (MGO), 2,3-butanedione (2,3-BD), in the sorbitol-glycine system. These compounds were precursors of melanoidins, indicating the occurrence of the Maillard reaction and resulting in the browning of the system. Therefore, the browning process in the sorbitol-glycine system involved two stages of reactions: the conversion of sorbitol to glucose and the Maillard reaction between glucose and glycine.

Exclusive D-lactate-isomer production during a reactor-microbiome conversion of lactose-rich waste by controlling pH and temperature

Lactate is among the top-ten-biobased products. It occurs naturally as D- or L-isomer and as a racemic mixture (DL-lactate). Generally, lactate with a high optical purity is more valuable. In searching for suitable renewable feedstocks for lactate production, unutilized organic waste streams are increasingly coming into focus. Here, we investigated acid whey, which is a lactose-rich byproduct of yogurt production, that represents a considerable environmental footprint for the dairy industry. We investigated the steering of the lactate-isomer composition in a continuous and open culture system (HRT = 0.6 d) at different pH values (pH 5.0 vs. pH 6.5) and process temperatures (38°C to 50°C). The process startup was achieved by autoinoculation. At a pH of 5.0 and a temperature of 47°C-50°C, exclusive D-lactate production occurred because of the dominance of Lactobacillus spp. (> 95% of relative abundance). The highest volumetric D-lactate production rate of 722 ± 94.6 mmol C L−1 d−1 (0.90 ± 0.12 g L−1 h−1), yielding 0.93 ± 0.15 mmol C mmol C−1, was achieved at a pH of 5.0 and a temperature of 44°C (n = 18). At a pH of 6.5 and a temperature of 44°C, we found a mixture of DL-lactate (average D-to-L-lactate production rate ratio of 1.69 ± 0.90), which correlated with a high abundance of Streptococcus spp. and Enterococcus spp. However, exclusive L-lactate production could not be achieved. Our results show that for the continuous conversion of lactose-rich dairy waste streams, the pH was a critical process parameter to control the yield of lactate isomers by influencing the composition of the microbiota. In contrast, temperature adjustments allowed the improvement of bioprocess kinetics.

Evolution and zoning of spatial ecosystem functional stability in the southern hilly region of China: a “structure–function” perspective

IntroductionA series of significant ecological construction projects in the southern hilly region have brought about substantial changes to the ecological status and comprehensive zoning of the region. Hunan Province, with its strategic significance, was chosen as a representative research subject in the southern hilly region.MethodsWe conducted a dynamic evaluation of the ecological status change and comprehensive zoning of Hunan Province from a structure–function perspective by applying the transfer matrix, Theil-Sen, Mann-Kendall, and ecosystem service trade-offs or synergies methods. The research goal was to integrate and harmonize structural complexity and functional diversification, providing valuable insights for optimizing both ecological background and territorial background.ResultsThe main results are as follows: (1) The structural changes of ecosystems were mainly concentrated in settlement and Cropland ecosystems. While the area of bulti-up ecosystems has increased significantly, from 1.34% in 2000 to 2.72% in 2020. Cropland ecosystems marking a decrease of 1.39%, with a continued conversion of Cropland into construction land ecosystems. (2) Ecosystem function changes have introduced instability. Over time, NPP exhibited an oscillating trend of increase followed by a decrease. Spatially, there was a sharp decline in peripheral building land, and the regions of declining NPP displayed a lateral U-shaped distribution. (3) The overall trend in ecosystem service changes was positive. Quantitatively, GP and CS experienced an ascending-then-decreasing pattern, while HQ showed a weak decline and WY increased annually. At the county scale, there was noticeable spatial heterogeneity. Human socio-economic activities and environmental protection policies exert a significant impact on the ecological conditions within the study area. (4) Regarding the national territory space function partition, urban functional zones have primarily catered to residential functions and were mainly distributed in the Changsha-Zhuzhou-Xiangtan area.DiscussionEcological functional zones were mainly centered on ecological functions, and most were located in the mountainous areas of western and southern Hunan Province. The agricultural function areas were mainly to serve production functions and were mainly located in the Dongting Lake Plain, the nearshore plain of the mainstream and tributary systems of the rivers of Xiang, Zi, Yuan, and Li. In general, the changes in ecosystem structure and function in the study area reflect changes in ecological conditions. In the future, ecosystem diversity, stability, and sustainability should be improved from an integrated structure–function perspective.

Effect of long-term land use change on soil organic carbon fractions and functional groups

Soil organic matter (SOM) fractions and functional groups can be used to study the short-term as well as the long-term effects of land use change on soil organic carbon (SOC) dynamics. In this study, soil samples of grassland (native vegetation), planted forest and cropland (both converted from grassland) were collected from three soil pedogenetic horizons of A-horizon, AB-horizon and Bk-horizon in a semiarid area of Northeast China. The amounts of SOC, particulate organic carbon (POC), and mineral-associated organic carbon (MOC) were evaluated. After grassland conversion into planted forest and cropland, the amount of SOC decreased by 5.71 and 13.59%, POC decreased by 17.39 and 34.72%, and MOC decreased by 2.84 and 8.36%. Based on the analysis of MOC composition, the average content of humic extract-C decreased by 2.19% and humin-C decreased by 3.08% for planted forest, meanwhile humic extract-C decreased by 14.14% and humin-C decreased by 6.24% for cropland, compared to grassland. This result suggested that labile SOC fractions were more affected by land use change. Solid-state 13C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectra of bulk soil showed that native grassland SOC had a higher proportion of alkoxy C but a lower proportion of aromatic C, and the aromaticity was less than that of planted forest and cropland. Our results suggested that although the chemical structure of SOM tend to be stable, SOM fraction levels were not enough to recover. Reasonable grassland management measures should be formulated to prevent the continued conversion of native grassland.

Bio-Inspired Microreactors Continuously Synthesize Glucose Precursor from CO2 with an Energy Conversion Efficiency 3.3 Times of Rice.

Excessive CO2 and food shortage are two grand challenges of human society. Directly converting CO2 into food materials can simultaneously alleviate both, like what green crops do in nature. Nevertheless, natural photosynthesis has a limited energy efficiency due to low activity and specificity of key enzyme D-ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (RuBisCO). To enhance the efficiency, many prior studies focused on engineering the enzymes, but this study chooses to learn from the nature to design more efficient reactors. This work is original in mimicking the stacked structure of thylakoids in chloroplasts to immobilize RuBisCO in a microreactor using the layer-by-layer strategy, obtaining the continuous conversion of CO2 into glucose precursor at 1.9nmol min-1 with enhanced activity (1.5 times), stability (≈8 times), and reusability (96% after 10 reuses) relative to the free RuBisCO. The microreactors are further scaled out from one to six in parallel and achieve the production at 15.8nmol min-1 with an energy conversion efficiency of 3.3 times of rice, showing better performance of this artificial synthesis than NPS in terms of energy conversion efficiency. The exploration of the potential of mass production would benefit both food supply and carbon neutralization.

The thermodynamic analysis on the catalytical ortho-para hydrogen conversion during the hydrogen liquefaction process

The catalytic conversion of ortho-para hydrogen is an important part in the hydrogen liquefaction process. Isothermal conversion, adiabatic conversion and continuous conversion are three main methods of the catalytic conversion in the hydrogen liquefaction process. However, there are few studies on the analysis and comparison of the three methods. In this paper, a theoretical model of the hydrogen liquefaction process is developed and calculated by MATLAB. The influences of the conversion methods, the number of adiabatic conversion stages and the parahydrogen concentration requirements in products are discussed and analyzed. The results show that the consumption work of the hydrogen liquefaction process with continuous conversion is the lowest. The consumption work of the isothermal conversion is 29.42 % higher than that of the continuous conversion, the consumption work of the adiabatic conversion with different stage numbers is 3.00 %–15.67 % higher than that of the continuous conversion when the parahydrogen percentage requirement in the product is 95 %.

“Out of my control”: science undergraduates report mental health concerns and inconsistent conditions when using remote proctoring software

Efforts to discourage academic misconduct in online learning environments frequently include the use of remote proctoring services. While these services are relatively commonplace in undergraduate science courses, there are open questions about students’ remote assessment environments and their concerns related to remote proctoring services. Using a survey distributed to 11 undergraduate science courses engaging in remote instruction at three American, public, research-focused institutions during the spring of 2021, we found that the majority of undergraduate students reported testing in suboptimal environments. Students’ concerns about remote proctoring services were closely tied to technological difficulties, fear of being wrongfully accused of cheating, and negative impacts on mental health. Our results suggest that remote proctoring services can create and perpetuate inequitable assessment environments for students, and additional research is required to understand the efficacy of their intended purpose to prevent cheating. We also advocate for continued conversations about the broader social and institutional conditions that can pressure students into cheating. While changes to academic culture are difficult, these conversations are necessary for higher education to remain relevant in an increasingly technological world.

Empowering Deaf-Hearing Communication: Exploring Synergies between Predictive and Generative AI-Based Strategies towards (Portuguese) Sign Language Interpretation.

Communication between Deaf and hearing individuals remains a persistent challenge requiring attention to foster inclusivity. Despite notable efforts in the development of digital solutions for sign language recognition (SLR), several issues persist, such as cross-platform interoperability and strategies for tokenizing signs to enable continuous conversations and coherent sentence construction. To address such issues, this paper proposes a non-invasive Portuguese Sign Language (Língua Gestual Portuguesa or LGP) interpretation system-as-a-service, leveraging skeletal posture sequence inference powered by long-short term memory (LSTM) architectures. To address the scarcity of examples during machine learning (ML) model training, dataset augmentation strategies are explored. Additionally, a buffer-based interaction technique is introduced to facilitate LGP terms tokenization. This technique provides real-time feedback to users, allowing them to gauge the time remaining to complete a sign, which aids in the construction of grammatically coherent sentences based on inferred terms/words. To support human-like conditioning rules for interpretation, a large language model (LLM) service is integrated. Experiments reveal that LSTM-based neural networks, trained with 50 LGP terms and subjected to data augmentation, achieved accuracy levels ranging from 80% to 95.6%. Users unanimously reported a high level of intuition when using the buffer-based interaction strategy for terms/words tokenization. Furthermore, tests with an LLM-specifically ChatGPT-demonstrated promising semantic correlation rates in generated sentences, comparable to expected sentences.

Insights into the enhanced removal of sulfamethoxazole via peroxymonosulfate activation catalyzed by bimetallic (Co/Cu) doped graphitic carbon nitride: Reaction kinetics, mechanisms, and pathways

Peroxymonosulfate (PMS)-based advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) have shown great potential for recalcitrant contaminants removal in wastewater treatment. Herein, we report the efficient activation of PMS by bimetallic oxides (cobalt and copper) co-doped graphitic carbon nitride (Co–Cu@g-C3N4) for removal of sulfamethoxazole (SMX). The morphology and chemical composition of the fresh and used Co–Cu@g-C3N4 were characterized by TEM, SEM, XRD, BET, and XPS. Nearly complete removal of SMX (50 mg/L) was observed in the presence of 50 mg/L Co–Cu@g-C3N4, 0.5 mmol/L PMS within 20 min at neutral pH with a degradation rate of 0.137 min−1. Moreover, the Co–Cu@g-C3N4 catalyst enabled more than 90 % removal of various typical pollutants within 20 min, including sulfapyridine, rhodamine B, acridine red, and malachite green, with rate constants of 0.083, 0.130, 0.096, and 0.160 min−1, respectively. Quenching experiments and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) analysis demonstrated that sulfate radical (SO4−) and singlet oxygen (1O2) were collectively responsible for SMX degradation. The efficient activation of PMS by Co–Cu@g-C3N4 was ascribed to the continuous conversion of Co(Ⅲ) to Co(Ⅱ) and Cu(I) to Cu(ⅠI), and the presence of oxygen vacancy (OV) on the catalyst. The Co–Cu@g-C3N4/PMS system exhibited superior durability and maintained high efficiency in real water samples. Finally, theoretical calculations of Fukui index were performed to determine the possible degradation pathways of SMX, and the ecotoxicity of the degradation products was evaluated by the ECOSAR program. This study significantly advances the understanding of the reaction between PMS and bimetallic oxides catalysts, as well facilitates the development and application of PMS-based AOPs in wastewater treatment.