Efficient degradation of tetracycline via peroxymonosulfate activation by phosphorus-doped biochar loaded with cobalt nanoparticles

The accumulation of tetracycline hydrochloride (TCH) threatens human health due its potential biological toxicity. The development of carbon-based materials with features of low cost, easy isolation and excellent performance for activating peroxymonosulfate (PMS) to generate reactive oxygen species toward TCH degradation is essential but remains a grand challenge. Herein, we utilize the idea of treating waste with waste, Cobalt nanoparticles loaded P-doped biochar (Co NPs-PBC) was synthesized to activate PMS for the degradation of TCH. Compared with Fe NPs-PBC, Mn NPs-PBC, and other cobalt based catalysts, Co NPs/PBC exhibited optimal performance of catalytic rate (with a kinetic constant of 0.157 min-1 for TCH degradation) and over 99.0% of TCH can be degraded within 20 minutes. The mechanism has demonstrated that the non-free radical oxidation process of 1O2 played a major role in the degradation of TCH. The possible degradation pathways and intermediate products of TCH were identified through LC-MS detection results and density functional theory analysis calculations. The toxicity analysis software (TEST) predicted the toxicity of intermediate products.