Design of the low-cost and environmentally
friendly catalyst for
advanced oxidation processes is highly desired in environmental remediation.
Herein, a flower-like CuFe2O4 nanostructure
is synthesized by a self-templating method for the first time and
used for the activation of peroxymonosulfate (PMS) to degrade carbamazepine
(CBZ). The catalytic performance of the flower-like CuFe2O4 is much higher than that of the other CuFe2O4 structures (nanoparticles, bulk, and sphere). 90% of
CBZ (10 mg/L) can be degraded by adding 0.1 g/L of CuFe2O4–16–350 and 0.2 g/L PMS, and 50% of TOC
got removed in 120 min. After five consecutive cycles, the CBZ removal
efficiency by the flower-like CuFe2O4 still
remains at 66%. Kinetic behavior of CBZ degradation follows the pseudo-first-order
reaction model, and the reaction rate constant value of the flower-like
CuFe2O4 is 3.7 times higher than that of CuFe2O4 nanoparticles. The structure-dependent catalytic
activity of CuFe2O4 catalysts is investigated
by experiments and characterizations such as BET, XPS, and H2-TPR. The results show that the excellent catalytic performance of
the flower-like CuFe2O4 is mainly attributed
to the strong interaction of dual metal species in it apart from its
high specific surface area and large pore volume. A reasonable mechanism
of PMS activation is established on the basis of the characterizations
of catalyst, radical determination, and the identification of intermediates.
This work provides a novel strategy to develop a highly efficient
and stable spinel catalyst for pollutant degradation through PMS activation.