Oxidative degradation of sulfamethazine in aqueous solution by the activation of Na2S2O8 over vinasse‐derived N,S‐codoped mesoporous carbon

Abstract N,S‐codoped mesoporous carbon (S/NMC) as an effective catalyst toward the catalytic persulfate oxidation of sulfamethazine (SMZ) was fabricated conveniently using vinasse as the C/N source, Na 2 S as the S precursor and nano‐SiO 2 as the template, respectively. The effect of S precursor dosage on the textural properties and surface chemistry of S/NMCs were characterized by N 2 adsorption/desorption, Raman spectra, X‐ray diffractometer (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT‐IR) and X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). It was found that more S precursor dosage presented an enhanced SMZ degradation performance due to the significant role of more S precursor dosage: (i) larger specific surface area and (ii) more active surface groups including pyridine N, graphite N, quinone‐like O and thiophene‐like S. In addition, quenching experiments showed that free radical and nonradical oxidation processes are the main processes of SMZ degradation. The findings provided a new idea for the resource utilization of vinasse and the development of catalytic persulfate oxidation of organic pollution.