Microwave assisted plastic waste derived O vacancies enriched cobalt oxide/porous carbon material for highly efficient carbamazepine degradation via peroxymonosulfate activation

In this study, porous carbon catalytic materials prepared by a simple microwave pyrolysis of waste plastic polyethyleneterephthalate (PET) were used to degrade carbamazepine (CBZ) through peroxymonosulfate (PMS) activation. Microwave absorbers cobalt nitrate and initially carbonized α-cellulose were employed to assist the waste plastic PET carbonization. The cobalt oxide formation, cobalt sulfide generation, oxygen vacancies introduction and specific surface area enlargement were all conducive to the improvement of catalytic performance. The optimal catalyst S0.3-Co@P2C could achieve 100.0 % CBZ degradation in 15 min, with the rate constant of 0.7445 min−1. Compared to traditional pyrolysis, the microwave-treated carbon materials were more conducive to the formation and exposure of active sites (CoS and CoO) in the catalytic materials for SO4•- and·OH production via PMS activation. In addition, the introduction of PET was conducive to the formation of C = O in the catalytic materials for the PMS activation to accelerate non-radical CBZ degradation pathway. This study provides new insights into the antibiotic degradation in water with the concept of using waste to deal with waste.