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Degradation of atrazine in aqueous solution through peroxymonosulfate activated by Co‐modified nano‐titanium dioxide
Author(s) -
Cai Hanying,
Li Jun,
Yin Haoxiang,
Yao Gang,
Lai Bo
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
water environment research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.356
H-Index - 73
eISSN - 1554-7531
pISSN - 1061-4303
DOI - 10.1002/wer.1324
Subject(s) - radical , chemistry , titanium dioxide , aqueous solution , degradation (telecommunications) , catalysis , photocatalysis , x ray photoelectron spectroscopy , nuclear chemistry , atrazine , hydroxyl radical , nanoparticle , chemical engineering , inorganic chemistry , organic chemistry , pesticide , telecommunications , agronomy , computer science , engineering , biology
Peroxymonosulfate (PMS) heterogeneous activation by Co 3 O 4 ‐modified catalyst has shown significant implications to generate free radicals for organic pollutants degradation in water. In this study, PMS heterogeneous activation was applied to degrade atrazine (ATZ) using Co 3 O 4 ‐mediated titanium dioxide nanoparticles (Co 3 O 4 /TiO 2 NPs), which were synthesized by sol‐gel method. Firstly, characteristics of the fresh and used Co 3 O 4 /TiO 2 NPs were analyzed via SEM, TEM, XRD, EDS, and XPS techniques. Then, the influences of several key parameters (i.e., Co 3 O 4 /TiO 2 NPs dose (0.02–0.3 g/L), PMS dose (0–0.6 mM), initial pH (3.0–11.0), and co‐existing anions) on the ATZ degradation were investigated systematically. Besides, control systems were set up to verify the high efficiency of Co 3 O 4 /TiO 2 NPs. In addition, the radical scavenging experiments revealed that sulfate and hydroxyl radicals were generated in the Co 3 O 4 /TiO 2 ‐PMS system, while sulfate radicals were the dominant reactive species responsible for ATZ degradation. Furthermore, the stability and reusability of the Co 3 O 4 /TiO 2 NPs were investigated after four consecutive experiments. Based on the identified products, possible degradation pathways of ATZ in the Co 3 O 4 /TiO 2 ‐PMS system were proposed. Finally, the possible reaction mechanism of Co 3 O 4 /TiO 2 ‐PMS system was proposed according to the comprehensive analysis. Findings of this study provided useful information for the application of Co 3 O 4 /TiO 2 NPs in recalcitrant organic contaminants degradation. Practitioner points Co 3 O 4 /TiO 2 NPs were synthesized via the simple sol‐gel method. Co 3 O 4 /TiO 2 NPs possessed excellent catalytic performance for PMS to eliminate ATZ. Sulfate radicals play a dominant role in the degradation of ATZ. ATZ degradation pathways and reaction mechanism in the system were proposed.