Advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) have revealed wide
prospects
in the application of the degradation of organic contaminants in ground
water and soil. High-performance, environmentally friendly, and low-cost
single-atom catalysts (SACs) are promising approaches to active persulfate
in AOPs. However, the practical application of SACs is restricted
by high preparation costs and tedious procedures. Herein, a manganese
(Mn) hyperaccumulator, Phytolacca americana, was successfully exploited as a precursor to synthesize a novel
Mn SAC (SPBC-700N) via a one-step pyrolysis method. In SPBC-700N,
Mn atoms are dispersed atomically upon the carbon matrix and coordinate
with four N atoms to form Mn–N4 active sites, which
exhibits an extraordinary catalytic activity for peroxymonosulfate
(PMS) activation. A large number of reactive oxygen species are formed
during the reaction, and over 90% of the antibiotic (chloroquine phosphate/CQP)
could be removed within 30 min. The superior catalytic performance
of the Mn SAC/PMS system for CQP degradation is ascribed to the synergistic
effect of the maximized utilization of Mn atoms and the neighboring
pyrrolic N sites, as identified by X-ray absorption fine structure
spectroscopy and density function theory calculations. This work not
only provides a green and low-cost strategy for synthesizing SACs
but also gives an atomic-level insight into the catalytic activity
of the Mn–N4 sites for PMS activation.